Sword Art Online: Companionship
by Kenji Hiroshi
Summary: For some, it was the chance to experience a new way to play games. For others, it was a means of spending time with old friends. Others, however, played it on a whim. Sword Art Online, the world's first VRMMORPG, gripped the curiosity of thousands the world over. Now it's a death game. Kenji Hiroshi, former beta tester, finds himself thrust into this environment. This is his story!
1. Unexpected Meetings

December 4th 2022, 1st Floor of Aincard, approx. 12:45.

My name is Kenji Hiroshi, tagged under the "system" as «Kishi», and like 10,000 other unfortunate souls I'm serving at the pleasure of madman Kayaba Akihiko, who happens to be the arguably deranged warden of the prison that is Sword Art Online. I'm fairly confident that, should I ever actually meet the man in person, I'd be well within my rights to defenestrate him! After having blasted every tooth he had down his throat and preferably throwing from a height of several stories that would allow the tech genius to hit terminal velocity. He'd go tumbling out the window, screaming like a banshee, and I'd be grinning like a Cheshire cat even after he became a bloody stain on the ground below.

Ah, if only. Still, a guy can dream, right? Or is the "system" monitoring that too?

I'm sure you already know this but Kayaba Akihiko is the creator and game master of the world's very first VRMMORPG - that's Virtual Reality Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing Game, on the off-chance you didn't know. Pretty long-winded acronym, eh? The game in question was Sword Art Online. But why would I show such hostility to the man himself? That was quite easy. SAO wasn't your average game. Oh, no. This thing defied normality. How so? You couldn't log out of the blasted thing! Kayaba Aki bloody Hiko, in his infinite wisdom, has turned what was supposed to be a groundbreaking game into a damned prison!

Okay, okay. I may be overreacting a little, so I apologize. But it could be argued that my annoyance is well justified. What if I told you the device responsible for creating this virtual world - the NerveGear - was designed in such a way that it fried your brain with microwaves should your avatar die in-game? You'd probably look at me like I'd suddenly sprouted a second head or something, and ordinarily I'd have the same reaction. Except I'm telling the truth. Not only has Sword Art Online been turned into a prison with a population of 10,000 people, but it's also a death game were a single mistake can spell disaster.

You could trip over a poorly placed pebble in the road and take a tumble into a river, for example, and should you be wearing heavy armour and sink to the bottom, you can consider your goose cooked. An embarrassing death, to be sure, but it's the only life you have in this game.

There are no do-overs. No reset buttons. Maybe now you'll agree that my fantasy of throwing Kayaba Akihiko from the nearest window isn't all that unreasonable.

"You're making that face again,"

"There's a face?" I answered.

"Oh, yeah. Can't miss it. Your right eye twitches every time you think of The Warden."

"Bite me,"

My companion, in the real world, was called Kusaka Kori. In-game he was known as «Arashi», and he had been my constant companion since the day this game started. He was a well-built, if somewhat intimidating looking man, of 26 years, and my old school buddy. He was decked out in a full set of «Iron Armour»; it was the kind that made him go 'clink' 'clink' every time he took a step. The only piece of the set that was not being worn was the helmet, which Arashi claimed stifled his vision, whilst making him feel like he was wearing a bucket on his head. I had to admit to having a slight chuckle to myself when I pictured my old friend with an old medieval-style bucket helm on his head.

Our day had been pretty uneventful so far. Farm mobs, complete quests, and repair gear. We did this and watched our experience bars barely move. Arashi was the Tank - the big heavy-armour wearing guy who soaked up all the damage whilst me, as the DPS, nuked everything that looked at us sideways. He was very good at his job too; I had barely been touched at all and even though we'd been questing for several hours, his own HP was hanging around 70%.

I was about to ask Arashi if he wanted to call it a day when the two of us stopped abruptly.

"Eeeeeeeyaaaaaaaaaaa!"

As I explained already, Sword Art Online was a death game now. One life, one chance. Most of the players trapped in the game had stayed in the Town of Beginnings, crippled by fear and indecision. There were a few however - myself and Arashi included - who had accepted the challenge laid down by Kayaba Akihiko and refused to bow to fear. We had stepped out of the safe zone and fought to strengthen ourselves. So had others. At the moment a scream like that could only have come from another player; and not just any other player, but one of the few who'd resolved to attempt and clear this game.

Arashi and I turned towards the sound.

"Kishi, over there!"

He pointed off towards the right.

"Right!"

I sighed as I activated my «Searching» Skill. My eyes were naturally a shade of aqua-green but when I used «Searching» my eyes began to glow with a mystifying green affect. It was like something straight out of some Halloween anime. What this did for me, however, outweighed the freakish look it gave me. «Searching» allowed me to detect things I usually wouldn't be able to, such as other players and nearby monsters. If something was hidden, for example, I could reveal its location, assuming my proficiency was up to snuff, of course.

Thankfully it was.

I looked off towards the right as indicated by my companion. Two seconds passed and a green cursor and a red cursor flashed onto my display. Green was for player characters whilst red - it was actually closer to pink thanks to my high level - indicated a monster. I immediately sprang into action. The green cursor was close to the floor so the player had likely been knocked prone. If this was the case the player had likely suffered the Tumble status as well, which caused a Humanoid-type to fall and be temporarily unable to recover. This could very easily translate to death for a solo player. The monster was stalking around the cursor but it was only a matter of time.

"Let me reach…!"

{{SAO|Reaver}} may have been the most basic of the One-handed Curved Sword skill-tree but it was a skill that one could initiate on a charge. This particular Sword Skill was activated by lowering your stance and levelling the sword above your shoulder. The system assist, which kicked in to facilitate the activation of a Sword Skill, would then cycle you through the animation. Reaver was a one-hit attack delivered horizontally as you passed by the target. The system, thankfully, recognized the stance as the trigger, and shot me forward like a bullet! The monster I aimed myself at was a rare, large wolf with grey and white fur, identified in-game as an «Alpha Dire Wolf». It must have sensed, or perhaps smelled, my approach, because it turned to stare daggers at me - or rather passed me, I noticed - with shining red eyes.

"Raaaagh!"

The sound was very different to the howl of a wolf and that was because it was something else altogether. Arashi, pounding along a bit behind me, had used his «Howl» Skill to pull the aggro away from the downed player towards himself. The wolf bared its fangs in challenge, saliva dripping from its pointed teeth, but my animation was already in motion. Given my level of 12, which I shared at the moment with Arashi, and damage-focused build, the wolf exploded into thousands of polygonal shards as the curved edge of my «Scimitar» +4 struck home! My attack had done roughly 60% damage in one attack.

Arashi, as a tank in heavy armour, took about as long as it took me to kill the monster and get through my post-skill delay to catch up with me. I flashed him a quick thumbs-up for a job well-done and returned my «Scimitar» to the black sheath at my waist. With the immediate danger dealt with I turned to regard the player Arashi and I had just saved.

I had to admit to being surprised.

The player was female! My attitude might surprise you but it wasn't born of sexism or anything remotely related. There were 10,000 people trapped in Sword Art Online and the simple fact was that the greater percentage of them were male. In fact, I hadn't seen a single female player outside the Town of Beginnings.

"Ummm... thank you."

"You're welcome,"

I hauled her to her feet to dispel the Tumble status a little quicker than it would resolve on its own. She was short; I'd guess no more than about 4ft 11in (ca. 150 cm), and if I had to guess her age I wouldn't put her anything higher than 18 or 19, at a push. She wore a purple ribbon in her hair, was equipped with simple store-bought cloth armour that traded defensive coverage for maximum mobility, and had a pair of claws strapped to her belt. I thought they were the initial set given to new players but wasn't 100% on that.

"I'm Kishi, and the guy sweating into his armour is Arashi. He might look mean…" I was going to say he was like a big kitten, but my mother had always told me now to lie during an introduction. "Okay, he is mean."

"Oh, hardy-har-har."

"... I'm Asuka."

It would be later, much later, before she told me her real name was Airi Natsume and that, at the time I met her, she was 17 years old. But that's a story for another time. Right now I was standing in the open fields between the Town of Beginnings and Tolbana looking at a petite girl with short-cut black hair and a frightened expression on her face. I couldn't blame her either. Sword Art Online was a fine mess to be stuck in.

Then Arashi went and opened his big-mouth.

"Look," Arashi began, "I'm not trying to be rude, but you shouldn't be out here alone. Tolbana is the closest area to the 1st Floor Labyrinth. This place is-!"

I cut in smoothly.

"Arashi, this isn't the time or the place, buddy. Asuka," and I made sure I was pronouncing that right before continuing, "your welcome to join us. Look, I don't agree with his delivery, but Arashi is right. You'll be safer travelling with us."

I could understand why she suddenly started crying. She had been mere seconds away from being eaten by a slobbering wolf! And now she was being chastised by a dude in heavy-armour who looked like a tin soldier. She wasn't having the best of days.

And so it transpired that, roughly four weeks into this game of death, Arashi and myself found ourselves with a new companion. When we got to Tolbana she asked to stay with us and very nearly tripped over her own mouth as she explained that she was tired of being alone all the time. She joined our party and a third name appeared in my eye-line: «Asuka» and the number beside her name was 5, indicating her level.

Keeping her around and helping her out certainly slowed our own progression, but we didn't care at that point. We had barely been levelling anyway. Asuka, you see, was truly a fresh breeze. What we saw as old and boring, she saw as new and refreshing, and it lifted our spirits immeasurably. Arashi and I had been beta testers, you see, and this was half the reason we had been avoiding other players. There was a certain stigma attached to the beta testers trapped in SAO. People think we should be doing more to help the new players. Suffice to say I'd rather avoid that hot mess completely.

I can honestly say that meeting Asuka was what first got me thinking about forming a guild. But sadly that was only possible on the 3rd Floor and given the current state of things within the player-base that was a long way off. But we had farming to do before that.

"Come on, I know a mob that drops a nice pair of claws." I called. "I will warn you though, we'll be fighting more wolves."

She hesitated for only a moment before stepping up to my right-side. Judging by the hard set of jaw she was probably trying to firm up her resolve and there was no way of knowing how she'd perform once she came face-to-face with the monster who had very nearly killed her. I was a firm believer in that the only way to conquer your fear was to face it.

"I bet this is going to be one of those infuriatingly low drop-rate things." Asuka answered quickly, trying to focus on something else.

"You'd be right." Arashi chimed in. "Monster drops or treasure loot is the most effective at the minute. But you can handle that job. I've finally tracked down my cousin."

All Arashi knew was that his cousin, Sojiro Kori, had been planning to play Sword Art Online along with a friend. He knew this because he had bragged loud and long that he had managed to secure two copies of the game. Sojiro, apparently, was a programmer for some tech company. He must have had friends in high places. I knew some people who'd lined up for almost three days to buy the retail version.

"Good luck!" I called, and his name disappeared from my party. "Shall we, Asuka?"

"Let's go."

It took almost seven hours of tedious farming but I learned a great deal about my new partner in that time.

Asuka's character build was as different from mine as mine was to Arashi's. She appeared to have dumped almost everything into Agility. «Wild Dance» was the claw-focused Skill-tree so her having that slotted was almost a given considering her weapon of choice, and from what I could determine watching her movements as we fought the wolves, she had «Sprint» slotted. Her entire strategy involved attacking her target and avoiding its counter. It was effective, sure, and simple, but that was its main problem. The monsters in Sword Art Online could predict certain patterns of movement, especially when repeated. It paid not to rely too heavily on one method.

"Try to switch things up a bit." I cautioned. "Don't worry, I'll be watching if you get into trouble."

"Okay, I'll try."

In the end it transpired that Asuka got her claws and conquered her fear, all in one stroke, and I was suddenly aware of the fact I'd been up and about since the early hours of the morning, and that I hadn't eaten anything since then. I wouldn't blame you for raising an eyebrow in question at the thought of me being hungry. Wasn't this supposed to be a virtual world? Why in the world should I be hungry? The truth, though, is that the NerveGear does a remarkable job of imitating the needs of the human body. Hunger and sleep were monitored by the system and both were required.

For the time being I munched on a piece of bread - at least it looked and tasted like bread - as Asuka studied her new acquisition.

"Hey, you weren't wrong about these claws." She said. "Agility boost and five enhancement attempts. Oh, what's this? Bleeding effect? What's that mean?"

"It's a DoT. It's actually the reason I suggested them."

"What's a DoT?"

"It means damage-over-time. It's a special debuff that allows you to inflict a bleeding status, which causes damage every couple of seconds."

"Wow, thanks!"

Given the floor they were dropped on these claws were a powerful piece of equipment. In-game they were called «Dire Wolf Claws». Physically these claws, worn one on each hand that extended over the back of the wearer's hand without overwriting the wearer's existent glove-slot, sported three retractable blades roughly 12.5 inches (ca. 32 cm) long. These claws extended for combat when needed and retracted to safety when not in-use, and were keenly sharp. I knew from my experiences in the beta that they could easily punch through heavy armour. The boost provided to Agility was +3 and the DoT effect was rare this early on and, given what I had observed of her build, highly complimentary. The one downside was that it could only be enhanced up to five times. Still, it would reliably serve her to the beginning of the 4th Floor and considering the DoT, it might very well do her longer than that.

Assuming we reached that far. I was getting ahead of myself again.

But there was one thing playing on my mind that I just had to address.

"Asuka, have you got any metallic equipment at all?"

"... No. But given today's events I might need to think about that." She looked momentarily lost. "I don't suppose you have an idea about that, do you?"

A smile tugged at my lip.

"Here,"

Thankfully my inventory was structured through several sub-folders, and I soon found the sub-folder I had set aside for armour. I found the two pieces I was looking for, known in-game as the «Lightweight Galerus» and «Lightweight Manica» respectively, and dropped them into the trade window. I sent the pieces off to Asuka who equipped them only moments later. The manica and galerus was armour worn by a Retiarius, who was a type of gladiator who fought with a net and trident. Considering that Sword Art Online was a mismatch of legends, myths, and several medieval histories all blended together, there shouldn't be much of a surprise gladiatorial armour existed. The manica covered the left arm and melded seamlessly into the galerus and was designed to protect the arm, neck and face of the wearer should they turn their left to face the enemy.

"What are you doing?" I asked as she began to shift her clothing around.

"This thing is hardly attractive," she noted. "What?"

This was asked in question to my raised eyebrow.

"I've admitted that I need more protection. I just don't see why I need to walk about in hulking armour like your friend."

I wasn't really in the position to talk. My armour was mostly store-bought studded leather. I had more protection than Asuka had, but I was still in similar peril should I slip up and be attacked.

"Your call," I answered, feeling quite diplomatic about myself.

In moments, she had a lightweight brown cape materialized that was subsequently positioned to cover her left arm and the armour beneath, and she quickly equipped the claws as well. Her left arm up to the shoulder was decked out in tightly-weaved and lightweight armour whilst the rest of her body was covered in lightweight cloth. There was still room for improvement but at least she was better equipped to survive now than she had been before.

My sudden yawn brought our attention to the time.

It had just turned 13:00 or so when Arashi and I had come to Asuka's rescue and a further hour had passed after that before Arashi left our company to look for his cousin. Given that seven hours had passed since his departure, then it was well into the evening when the claws finally dropped for her. Aincrad managed to mimic the seasons surprisingly well, though some floors understandably had their own norms as far as the weather was concerned, but the 1st Floor wasn't one of them. Given it was December the evenings were short; darkness was already descending, and I would rather not be outside at night if I could help it. To say nothing of nocturnal monsters the temperature was sinking like a stone.

I shivered.

"Shall we head back?" Asuka asked, sensing my mood.

"... Yeah, I'm curious to know how things went with Arashi." But I hesitated. "But before we do, I'm famished! What do you fancy to eat?"

I wouldn't know until later why she spent so long making up her mind.

"I haven't tried that expensive fish dish yet."

"Fish it is then!"

Unbeknownst to me was Asuka's love of all things' food. This was one particular trait of my new companion that I would become intimately familiar with as our adventures played out, usually at the expense of my wallet. But I suppose I was richer for it in other ways.


	2. Pushing the Frontier

December 4th 2022, approximately 40 minutes after the defeat of the 1st Floor Boss and the opening of the 2nd Floor.

"Arashi, have you seen Kishi? He said he would show me around the new town." Asuka asked.

She was standing in the centre of the teleport plaza of the 2nd Floor. Alongside Kishi and Arashi, she had been one of the very first players to step foot through the teleport gate and enter the 2nd Floor. In fact, she was pretty sure the only people ahead of her had been a cloaked figure with whiskers on their face, two people she could only describe as ninjas, and a single man with a yellow coloured blade. She had been so excited that she had to admit not really paying attention to anything else. As soon as she turned around, however, she had found herself alone with Arashi; Kishi was nowhere to be seen.

Arashi shrugged his shoulders.

"Nope. He did say something about 'getting there first', and then he bolted. You should fire him off an instant message."

That would have made the person with the yellow blade Kishi then.

Asuka's eyes lit up.

"Wait, you can do that!? Send messages to people? Show me how!"

Arashi must have looked like a fish for a moment. His mouth kept opening and closing several times before his lip began to tremble. It was obvious that he was trying to keep from laughing, but right now he wasn't really succeeding.

"Did I say something funny?" Asuka asked.

His self-control shattered.

"You mean to tell me that you've been trapped here a month and you didn't know about instant messages?" He finally managed to say, chuckling all the while. "Damn, I knew you were a noob, but this is taking the biscuit."

She apparently knew enough about gaming slang to know what noob meant because the look she gave Arashi would have soured milk.

"Noob, am I?"

What she did next was seen fully by several players and NPC vendors and everyone was laughing, computer controlled or not. Asuka made a show of inspecting several items at a nearby line of NPC market stalls. Some goods she inspected were basic healing potions, some were dyes, whilst others still were curative in nature. There was even a few cans of paint to personalize one's furniture. One can of paint in particular, which was rose pink, smelled awful, and was seemingly there as a display option. Or as a means of warding off the local fly population. She didn't know and didn't care, but purchased one of the cans, looking to all around her very excited, loosened the lid, and then tripped. The contents of the foul-smelling paint went over the top of Arashi's head, down his front, and pooled on the floor at his feet.

"Oops," she sounded, smiling demonically.

"... Are you kidding me?"

Asuka merely smiled innocently.

"It was an honest mistake," she quipped, trying to be all sweet. "I tripped."

"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"

I wasn't privy to this particular conversation, of course, because I was running full-pelt through the newly opened 2nd Floor of Aincrad. It was well within the realm of possibility that the earth-shattering scream of rage was heard on the 1st Floor, never mind the 2nd Floor. Okay, not really. But it was a fun thing to picture.

If only I knew the truth.

Back to me though. A daring group of 44 players had successfully mapped the 1st Floor labyrinth and laid the boss at its end, Illfang the Kobold Lord, low today. This magnificent achievement was only brought about after a terrible battle that saw the Raid Leader killed by the Boss. After almost a month of uncertainty and pointless death, we had finally cleared our first Floor! Player morale had never been higher, even in light of the fact that those remaining 43 were mourning the loss of an inspiration. It was the reason I was running with the wind in my hair and an honest to goodness smile on my face.

It might have something to do with the fact I also liked the 2nd Floor.

The 2nd Floor could be very roughly divided into its northern, southern, and western portions. The western area was classified as a rocky savanna and, coupled by the ox-men who inhabited the labyrinth tower, had led to the beta testers affectionately dubbing the floor the "cow floor". That particular part of the landscape was littered with boulders and scattered foliage, widely spaced trees, and large looming mountains that overlooked the plains. Open space as far as the eye could see! Perfect for running. If only that was where I was. My feet were carrying me south, not west, which was the sight of a towering mountain. There was a small clearing there surrounded by tall cliffs, a spring, and a single lone tree.

Inside this clearing was my goal.

You see, my goal was altogether very "Beater" like. I was rushing ahead of the other players, refusing to share my toys like a good little boy, and almost everyone else was throwing temper tantrums as a result.

Yeah, I didn't like the current state of affairs. And people wonder why I tend to avoid large crowds of people? I suppose some background is needed on my sour mood. I guess I'll start with the term I mentioned: "Beater".

This word was a lovely portmanteau of "beta tester" and "cheater" that had been created by the brave 43 not a minute after Illfang had burst into polygonal shrapnel. Remember the discrimination I mentioned before that was levied at the beta testers? Well, apparently Illfang's attack patterns and weapons were different from the beta, and the death of Diavel - the raid leader - was the direct cause of this change. One beta tester in particular noticed the change in weaponry and subsequently rallied the shocked parties, calling patterns and the timing of attacks, allowing for the defeat of the Floor Boss. He claimed afterwards that he knew the timing of the attacks because he had fought monsters who used such attacks on higher floors in the beta.

That should have been the end of it. Celebrations should have been had, momentum carried forward. But no, that would have been too easy.

Sword Art Online was no fairytale world.

As soon as the dust had cleared accusations were thrown left and right, with players suspecting others of being beta testers and withholding important information that had resulted in the death of a player. Before it came to player on player violence the beta tester who had led the group and delivered the killing blow stood in front of everyone and told them not to lump him in with those noobs. This beta tester was called «Kirito» and he then took the term «Beater» as his own classification when the calls of the players blended into a new word. His goal was simple: take the heat off the other testers so the front-line of player progress he and the other 42 had created didn't sputter out before it had truly got started.

Again, it should never have happened. It was all so pointless.

I had to admit, though, that what he did was pretty ballsy. I told him as much in the message I fired off to him:

«You don't know me. Just wanna say thanks from one beta tester to another. What you did was pretty ballsy. If you need anything, just ask.»

His reply was simple: «Thanks.»

I got all this information from Aincrad's very own well of information Argo who, like myself, was a beta tester. Whilst I was getting the gist of the story from her I also got Kirito's name and thus the ability to message him in the first place. I was surprised because when I told her I planned to thank Kirito she dropped her customary fee with the stipulation I not tell "Kii-bou", which I admit did give me a good laugh. Argo and her nicknames.

I accepted her conditions.

Want a fun fact? She knew me from my online gaming channel before we had actually met in the beta and her name for me, 'cause she gives everyone nicknames, was «Shi».

Thankfully my display indicated I had a message and I managed to skid to a halt, all thoughts of strangling the players discriminating against the beta testers chased away for a while. Rather than being from Arashi, as I had expected, it was actually from Asuka.

«Can't believe it took me a month to realize this game has a messenger! Where did you disappear to? I'm missing my tour guide.»

I had a good laugh before I replied. She really was green as grass.

«Sorry, had to get this done before word about this quest got out and everyone and their grandma wants a piece of the action. I should be back shortly. And I'll treat you to more than a tour; I know a great little restaurant up here, with delicious desserts.»

«I'm going to hold you to that! Bye!»

I was just about to start running again when another notification blinked on my display.

«P.S. I might have accidentally (but totally on purpose) drenched Arashi in pink paint. He's pretty angry about the whole thing. I don't think he's talking to me any more.»

The mental image of Arashi, decked out in full iron armour and drenched in pink paint, got a good old belly laugh from me. My laugh was so loud I actually thought I'd attract monsters. That was when I heard the mooing of a cow. Only this moo was altogether very bestial and the ground beneath my feet was beginning to shake. This was the reason I had been running like something half-possessed.

But I'll get to the reason I was being chased by a «Trembling Ox» in a bit. I sent Asuka a final message and went back to my mission.

«Got it. I'll be quick.»

The quest I mentioned in my message to Asuka was a secret quest that granted the one who completed it an Extra Skill called «Martial Arts». As the name clearly suggested this was a Skill-tree that focused on the use of one's arms and legs to launch Sword Skills, and once levelled to 50 proficiency a «Skill Mod» identified in-game as «Relax Equipment Conditions» could be acquired. This Mod allowed the player who possessed it to launch Sword Skills belonging to the «Martial Arts» Skill-tree even when equipped with a weapon, so long as you can still execute the appropriate triggering stance or motion. It opened up a whole plethora of attacking options, and given that Sword Art Online was now a death game, having options to fall back on wasn't just nice but essential to survival.

Besides, I was one of only two people, at least as far as I was aware, who actually discovered the Skill during the beta, and the other was Argo. And I highly doubted her willingness to sell that particular nugget of information, even for an exorbitant sum. You see, I actually knew the reason for her whiskers, but I'm afraid that's a tale I can never tell.

Amazingly I was the first to arrive at the clearing. I had trailed slightly behind Argo and the ninjas but I had seen a player with a long black coat give chase. The ninja's goal was to extract the information about the Martial Arts quest from Argo, and they were apparently content using violence to achieve their goal. I knew many things from the beta, and one of those things was what the «Coat of Midnight» looked like. That was the «Last Attack bonus» from Illfang the Kobold Lord, Boss of the 1st Floor, and the person who had got the LA was Kirito. So I wasn't worried about Argo's safety.

Hence, why I hadn't opted to help myself.

I only slowed my blistering pace when I stood outside the master's hut inside the clearing. I can't tell this particular story without ruining Argo's secret but suffice to say you're required to break an almost unbreakable rock, otherwise you can't complete the quest and gain the Extra Skill. What I can tell you though is about my experiences with this lovely quest during the beta.

I spent four days here hitting that rock. Yeah, have a good laugh. I did eventually break it though and looking back it was all so simple. By the end of the ordeal the only thing keeping me going had been professional pride. No way was I ever going to let it be said that a rock had beaten Kenji Hiroshi.

The solution was surprisingly simple and it lay in the name the beta testers had given this particular segment of Aincrad: the "cow floor". I was familiar with a quest on the 2nd Floor that dropped high-quality ore, but only if there was a blacksmith in the party, and only if you could mine the ore from the rock formations that spawned upon accepting the quest. One ingenious player, however, who wasn't a miner but had a blacksmith friend, used the local speciality to his advantage. The «Trembling Ox» was a mainstay of that particular area but its numbers exploded when the quest was initiated. The «Trembling Ox» never switched targets when someone entered its range and gained aggro, and they chased their target down until one of two ultimate conclusions were reached; either the target died, or the ox died.

Now picture a large cow about two meters tall from the ground to its shoulder with a proportionate muscle mass? Got it pictured? Good. Now imagine that thing chasing after you. The first instinct of most would be to run. And who wouldn't? But what if the ox held the key to breaking those rock formations and yielding up to the player the rare ore?

I was a player-killer in the beta and during my four-day rock-crushing crusade I came upon the ingenious player I mentioned, obscured by my amazing «Hiding» Skill. He ran circles around the ox, leading them to charge through rocks, whilst his friend collected the ore from amongst the pulverized stone. And I felt a light-bulb go off in my head.

The «Trembling Ox» had a massively long aggro timer.

When I smacked one on the tail I led it all the way back to the clearing, through tunnels that barely held its massive girth, and right through that supposedly unbreakable rock!

Now you know why a «Trembling Ox» was chasing me today.

I accepted the quest from the old NPC, stood in front of the much-talked-about stone, and waited for the ground beneath my feet to start shaking. When the «Trembling Ox», who had been my distant yet constant companion since I set out from Urbus, appeared, I waved my hand towards him and beckoned it to come on. I didn't know if monsters in Sword Art Online held grudges, but I was pretty sure that a normal «Trembling Ox» didn't stamp or snort as angrily as the one in front of me half as often as he did.

"This is an awful idea," I said at last, just as the ox burst into a run.

I waited until the last possible second before turning and running up along the stone. I managed three steps along the stones surface, my foot almost slipping by the third step, before leaping off it into the air! My Strength and Agility was just about at the level I needed and for about two seconds I was sailing through the air. The ox passed below me and before its head smashed the unbreakable rock to smithereens I landed lightly atop its back portion, where I leapt down to the floor safely. The unmistakable sound of stone crumbling to bits filled the clearing and at that moment I turned on the ox! My «Scimitar» glowed as I fired off my fastest Sword Skill with the shortest post-motion delay and cool down period in my possession. Reaver, which sent me barrelling forward into the ox's tail and backside, cut a clean gash into its muscled hide!

The entire regime played out over the next five minutes and the «Trembling Ox» who had been my companion and quest MVP burst into polygonal dust. Not that I hadn't come out of the battle spotless either. My gear definitely needed repairing.

"I'll remember you every time I punch something, Betsy, I promise."

I completed the quest, slotted «Martial Arts», had the thing I couldn't talk about wiped off my face by the master NPC, and set out again at a sprint. As soon as I reached the entrance to the cave leading into the clearing I activated my «Hiding» Skill and sat inside a nice little nook in the cave wall. The location, coupled with my proficiency in the Skill, gave me an overall hidden percentage of 95%.

I sat there until I heard voices and footsteps. As I had expected Kirito, decked out in the «Coat of Midnight», and Argo, in her usual leather clothing, approached. I waited until they both passed by my hiding place, with my hiding percentage falling to about 70% when Kirito casually glanced in my general direction, but he never gave an outward sign he had noticed that something was hidden inside the nook. When they were through to the clearing I left my position and made a B-line for Urbus.

"There you are!" Asuka exclaimed as I skidded to a halt near the entrance to Urbus.

She stood looking at me with her head tilted to the side with the purple ribbon in her hair blowing lazily in the wind. It was obvious to me that she was inspecting my equipment, and I was fairly certain that I detected a hint of concern in that look. My suspicions were confirmed when I sent a party invite to her, and she let out a cute squeak sound when she saw the condition of my HP bar. I had dropped below the yellow zone and into the red!

"Swallow this!"

"Whthhel,"

My intended what the hell came out as garbled gibberish as she practically force-fed me a healing potion! She was so forceful I half expected the anti-criminal code to kick in and generate a purple protective barrier. Thankfully this didn't occur and neither did a menu flash up asking if I wanted to whisk her away to the prison on the 1st Floor. I made an exaggerated hacking sound to simulate choking, but all I ended up doing was to contribute to her concern.

"Why didn't you heal yourself!?"

"... Ran out," I answered, sounding rather pathetic.

"Why didn't you come back before now!?"

"... Hadn't finished," and by now I sounded like a thoroughly admonished child.

A moment of silence passed, Asuka looking cross and me looking thoroughly deflated, before I exhaled loudly and long.

"Sorry about bolting, and sorry about worrying you. I'm also sorry for not giving you the tour I promised." I said, recovering my senses.

An apology seemed to placate her and the worried look quickly gave way to her usual pretty expression.

"That's fine. I'm not going to flip just because you vanish for a spell, but look after you HP more." Her smile turned demonic however. "Speaking of flipping out. Arashi's been staring daggers at me since the paint incident! I'm surprised he hasn't tripped the anti-criminal code yet."

"... You are evil, and I love it."

"Me? Evil? No way, I just don't handle insults well."

"Point taken. Now, how about that dessert I promised you? You know, before you decide to flip and dye my hair pink."

Arashi was seated on one of the steps leading up to the teleport gate and he looked about as cross as I had ever seen him. His black hair was mostly covered in pink splotches of widely distributed paint, his armour was streaked across the front plate, and his boots appeared to have soaked up much of what had pooled on the floor around him. Oddly someone, and I had a vague idea who, had written the words "Noob Hater" on his back in bright and very noticeable pink letters.

"Looks good on you," I said as I passed him.

Rather than walk on however I stopped beside him.

"I hope you choke on your dessert," he answered, sounding particularly sour.

"Buh-bye, Arashi! I had fun!" Asuka stated as she ran ahead.

"Bite me," Arashi answered, though I noticed that he whispered.

Overall, that was altogether more friendly than I had expected it to be, in all honesty. Arashi wasn't exactly known for his temper, even under the best of circumstances, but this was altogether very un-Arashi like behaviour. He was actually being quite sporting about the whole ordeal.

I made sure Asuka had walked a little farther ahead and was out of ear-shot before I spoke to him again.

"You like her, don't you?"

I wasn't teasing him. I was speaking matter of factly, one friend to another.

"Not in that way, but yeah. She's good fun." He answered, before fixing me with a look. "She does like you however; if you had spent some time with her today, instead of bolting to unlock «Martial Arts», you'd have seen that." It was then that he smiled. "If I wasn't a better friend I could have slid in between you two. Just don't do anything stupid like I did, 'cause she's devious."

"Thanks, Wingman."

He lazily waved his hand in farewell as I clapped him on the shoulder. I was pretty sure I heard him mutter something about a shower before I left.

"How's he taking it?"

She actually looked concerned.

"I wouldn't worry. You see, he actually likes you; says you're good fun to be around. And when we're on the subject of being around, I really am sorry for disappearing without a word earlier."

"Consider yourself forgiven. But only if this dessert you mentioned is as good as you say!"

The restaurant in question was a small out of the way bed and breakfast about a ten-minute walk from the teleport plaza, through several alleyways and slim back streets, and was almost impossible to find unless you got really lucky or knew where to look. In the beta I was the former. I only found it after attempting to leap along the rooftops and falling flat on my backside. The sign hanging above the door read «Moo Moo Milk».

I had to admit, when I saw it I pictured a cuddly pink Miltank from Pokemon. Maybe the name wasn't coincidental?

The restaurant was a small room on the ground floor off the main hallway to the right. The entranceway was a short thin corridor and the semi-circular counter was situated at the bottom of the staircase leading upwards, nestled into the side. On the left-side was a quaint seating area with two tables and a total of ten chairs. The walls were plainly decorated in dark wood panels up until about halfway and the top portion was painted white. Neutral, and a bit plain, but cosy. This had been my base for a good portion of the beta test.

I looked over at Asuka and saw that her brown eyes were distinctly cake shaped.

"Trust me enough to order?" I asked. She nodded.

I led her through to the dining room and ordered for the two of us with an NPC waitress. Although plain as far as decor was concerned «Moo Moo Milk» was an Italian-themed restaurant as far as the food was concerned, and I was delighted to see that this had not changed from the beta. In total, I ordered an Italian soup to start, a portion of spiced kebabs and a side of salad as our main, and asked the waitress for the dessert dish only after we had finished our starter and main.

"This place reminds me of a little place in Niijima," she said as we took our seats.

"An island girl?" I asked, curiosity caught. "I'm from Izu Oshima myself."

Her eyes flashed curiously.

Our soup arrived just as the taboo subject of our real world lives could be discussed in greater detail. It comprised of potato, cabbage and finely cut and almost non-existent sausage, with mild spices. Food texture and taste was something the system did a very good job replicating in Sword Art Online, at least in my opinion. Even here in the virtual world partaking of food was a daily requirement. So it was nice when the food you ordered was replicated to a pretty high standard.

"That was delicious," and she dabbed at her slight lips with a white handkerchief.

The second dish arrived within seconds of our starters being cleared. This was perhaps my one complaint about restaurants in Aincrad. The NPC cooks and waiters were perhaps a little too efficient. One of the points of dining out, at least in my own humble opinion, was the chance to converse between courses and get to know the person you were dining with. In Sword Art Online that was skipped almost completely.

It didn't half kill the mood.

I noticed that she only picked around her kebabs but finished the whole salad and filed that information away for the future.

"Too spicy?" I asked.

"I went to Italy on holiday once," she answered as she set her fork down. "I ate what the waiter called 'fiery chicken skewers', and they were blisteringly hot. These kebabs remind me of those."

I didn't tell her that, outside virtual reality, I barely ate anything spicy. The reason being that it gave me cramps that ultimately made me a prisoner to the toilet seat with Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" playing in the background.

Mentioning that would probably kill the mood, so I wisely kept my mouth shut.

The dessert that arrived, and was actually the whole reason I took Asuka here in the first place, was essentially a rich cheesecake without a crust. This particular dish was a variation of the Italian rasgulla, which itself was made from ball-shaped dumplings of cottage cheese and cooked in light syrup and sugar. Our dish, at least in the real world, was called "ras malai", but was called «Moo Moo Cheesecake» here in Aincrad. Its main ingredients were chhana or cheese curds, malai, which is a cooking ingredient made by heating and then cooling milk to remove fat, and sugar.

It was quite rich - and bloody expensive at 900 cor per serving! - but Asuka seemingly loved it, and polished off her own and the leftovers of mine before sighing contentedly.

"That was lovely, thank you."

"You're very welcome."

Her contented look quickly gave way to confusion however. I knew what confused her. She was a member of my party, you see, and a new icon had appeared beside her name on our respective displays. Given that she was as green as grass as far as gaming was concerned she likely didn't have a clue what this icon was.

It appeared as a little man, with bleeding wounds, and a large + floating beside him.

"Why is my name suddenly bleeding?" She asked, all whilst pointing to where roughly her name was on my display.

"That's the second reason I brought you here," I revealed. "Do you remember what I told you about your claws yesterday?"

"Yes! It was the whole DoT thing. Does this have something to do with that?"

"It does. That icon is a buff - in games like Sword Art Online, a player can benefit from any number of additional buffs, the same way they can suffer debilitating effects. You're familiar with two already."

Her eyebrow perked up as I said this. "I am?"

"Your «Sprint» Skill enhances your evasiveness. This is what is called a passive buff. When you fought that wolf and were knocked prone, you suffered the «Tumble» status. This is a debuff. A DoT - in the case of your new claws this is called «Bleeding» - is a debuff you inflict on a target. That icon you have at the moment increases the percentage chance of any DoT chance taking effect."

I smiled and, for added effect, tipped my non-existent hat. "This is Kishi-sensei, signing off."

I left out the bit about me using the claws she was equipped with currently in the beta to kill other players. In the official release killing another player was akin to murder and it understandably made people uncomfortable.

"... That is so awesome! Thanks! So how long does this buff thingy last?"

"They all vary but this one lasts 24 hours. And the nice thing? Some food items degrade so quickly you can't take them with you. This dessert can be carried with you for at least a day before it degrades."

I was looking forward to some post-dinner conversation but what she said next surprised me.

"We can't let this buff go to waste!" She suddenly exclaimed as she got to her feet. "Will you help me get materials to enhance my claws with? Arashi said something earlier about my level being low for this Floor, so I'd rather not go gathering alone."

"Sure, that's fine with me."

"Good. Oh, but I need «Windwasp» materials, and I'm allergic to wasps. Like, I burst out in big lumps, allergic."

I sighed.

Somehow I had a feeling I was going to be turned into a human-sized pin cushion sometime in the immediate future. And I wasn't wrong. Our battle strategy involved me attacking a single wasp with my «Martial Arts». Once I tripped their aggro with my initial attack Asuka unleashed Acute Vault, which was a charging claw attack, to kill the weakened wasp. Once my proficiency reached 50 in «Martial Arts» I took the Mod I had thought about earlier and began chaining my one-handed curved Sword Skills into a position enabling me to land a «Martial Arts» Sword Skill before I went into a post-motion delay, in effect allowing me to hit with two Sword Skills in quick succession.

"You just used two Sword Skills," Asuka noted, surprised. "How did you do that?"

This wasn't exactly easy to explain because it was a matter of exploiting the primary systems employed as part of Sword Art Online's combat engine to achieve an unfair advantage. This particular kind of exploit wasn't unheard-of in the gaming industry, but Sword Art Online was uncharted territory. The world's very first VRMMORPG.

"You know how you enter a post-motion delay every time you use a Sword Skill, right?" She nodded. "Well, this was… I was going to say technique… but it's actually an exploit, that I discovered during the beta. Basically, whenever I use specific Sword Skills, I can subtly shift my body into the position required to launch a Sword Skill from the «Martial Arts» Skill-tree, or finish my original attack in the required posture."

"But how would that help you launch another Sword Skill? Shouldn't you be frozen?"

"That's where the exploit comes in. You see, there's a very slight delay between the Sword Skill ending and the post-delay beginning, and that time frame is just large enough to register another Sword Skill, which overwrites the delay with the attacking animation."

Her eyes lit up but I forestalled her.

"It'll only work with «Martial Arts». You'll enter an «Irregular Equipment State» that prevents the use of all Sword Skills if you equip two at once, and it'll stay in effect until you return to a one-handed weapon."

"... I don't really get the mechanics, but I do see how it'll be useful." She looked skywards, noting the darkening of the sky. "Shall we get back to it? I've almost hit my quota."

"Yeah, I'd like to be back in Urbus before nightfall."

By the time night had fallen, and we were returning to town with enough materials to see Asuka's claws upgraded to at least +3, I was pretty sure people would soon be calling us Wasp Bane. We'd racked up considerable numbers in terms of wasp kills!

"... I had a great time today." She said outside the door of her room. "Thank you."

Incidentally Arashi, Asuka and myself had rented out the entirety of the rooms available in «Moo Moo Milk».

"Same here. I'll see you in the morning and talk you through weapon upgrades."

"It's a date!"

With that accomplished, our opening adventure on the 2nd Floor came to an end.


	3. The Karma Scales

December 6th 2022, 2nd Floor of Aincrad, 04:37.

"Why did this have to be so early? And why aren't you sleepy?"

"You're the one who asked me to show you how to enhance your claws." I reminded.

"Yeah… But not at this hour! Who walks around at this time of the morning? The sun isn't even up yet!"

Asuka was rubbing at her eyes with her right-hand and looked like she was still half asleep. Fatigue was handled by the system but wasn't viewable by the player; rest and relaxation were the only things that could restore it, at least as far as I was aware. Just like in the real world the human body needed sleep to operate efficiently, and the body of your avatar in the virtual world was no different. So why wasn't I as tired as my companion? I didn't have any proof but maybe the amount of sleep required by a person was something the system had no control over, in the same way it couldn't enhance one's natural lung capacity? I was used to keeping long hours for my gaming channel and could get by on a minimum of between 4 and 6 hours of sleep and still feel well rested.

Maybe Asuka was one of those people who liked her sleep?

"What can I say? I'm a night owl."

"Remind me to ply you with sleeping pills from now on."

She can say what she wanted but her tongue was still as sharp as always, despite the early hour.

I led the way towards the blacksmith who would hopefully enhance Asuka's claws, and I realized just how deserted the town was. During the beta it was the early hours like this where the truly hardcore players, myself included, did their questing and levelling. It hadn't been unheard-of for the hardcore gamers to log in during the small hours and play for most of the day. The reverse seemed to be true in the official release. Granted we didn't have a «Log Out» button, so that had to be taken into account, but the vast majority of the player-base did their questing during the day and kept the night for sleeping.

"Are we the only two people fool enough to be up and about?" Asuka asked.

"Probably,"

The only people out at this time of the morning were system controlled NPC characters. The in-game economy didn't suddenly close just because it was dark out; after all, there were a few who quested at night. Several shops, market stalls, and independent merchants were in evidence, and various civilian NPC's were out doing odd jobs. One in particular was sweeping the step outside his home. Others still only showed up at this time of the day and these were the kind who would most likely have a quest associated with them.

It seemed Asuka had seen a quest-giver already.

"I thought I'd completed most of the quests in Urbus yesterday?"

"You probably completed the day-time offerings. I wouldn't be surprised if there were quest-chains that can only be done at night, or early in the morning."

Her eyes flashed angrily.

"Don't you think for a minute we're going to make this a usual occurrence!" She snapped, waving her fist at me. "I like my sleep."

"I noticed. Hey, we're here."

Our blacksmith wasn't what you would consider a stereotypical blacksmith. She was an attractive woman, with clearly defined and easily discernible muscles on her arms and neck, with her long blond hair tied up out of the way in a tight ponytail. Her blacksmiths' apron was dark-blue with a black outline, the surface of which was blackened from working the blazing forge nestled into the wall behind her, and a pair of long, thick, gloves covered her hands and most of her forearm. The dungarees and trousers she wore were of the same shade of dark-blue as her apron.

Her shop made do with only slight illumination; the burning forge, and two solitary lamps in strategic locations, provided all the light she needed. She looked us up and down and set her tongs down on the tabletop before walking over to the counter.

"Morning. Aren't you out early this morning?"

"You know the saying: Early bird catches the worm?"

She smiled knowingly.

"What will it be?"

Asuka looked to me with a somewhat nervous expression. I still remember her expressing confusion when I made it clear that her claws would be suitable for use up until at least the 4th Floor, and if she was careful in how she upgraded it may well do for the 5th Floor as well. She knew enough from reading the description that 5 enhancement attempts could be made to the claws, but she didn't have a clue where to even start when it came to tackling the enhancement system itself. SAO's system was quite complex. Each weapon had only a finite amount of attempts. Asuka's «Dire Wolf Claws» had 5 attempts whilst my own «Scimitar» had 8. I had already succeeded on 4 of those attempts so my «Scimitar» was labelled with a +4. With plentiful materials, and no small amount of luck, I might be able to push mine all the way to +8. But should one fail, and the worse case scenario occurs instead, the best my «Scimitar» could ever be would be +6.

"Have you thought about your attributes?" I asked.

"I was thinking Sharpness, for damage?"

"That would probably be best," I answered. "Accuracy would be a good alternative, but considering your gear and Skills, Sharpness is best."

When she approached the blacksmith and her blazing hot forge - who was being very patient, I might add - a pop-up menu appeared with a number of options. Asuka set the window to visible, allowing me to see what would otherwise be private information, and looked at me expectantly. I guided her finger, making sure to ask permission like a gentlemen first, and selected the «Reinforcing» option from the menu.

"Sharpness, correct?" The blacksmith asked.

"Yes, please. I have the materials required for three." Asuka answered crisply, if a tad hesitantly.

There was no dispute about the first 4 enhancement attempts being the easiest of the entire lot and almost guaranteed to succeed should the necessary materials be available, which Asuka had covered. She probably had enough on-hand to push it up to +4. This was why I wasn't worried personally but Asuka was absolutely beside herself and I soon found my hand being squeezed by her own. She was biting her lip nervously even as her eyes widened in amazement at the flashing silver flames. She jumped when the first blow of the blacksmith's hammer struck the claws! This repeated exactly thirty times - ten blows for every enhancement - and when the blacksmith was finished Asuka's window, which was still visible to me, read the following: «Dire Wolf Claws» +3 (3S).

Every single attempt had been successful and her weapon still had two left! Like every piece of gear that had been buffed to a sufficient level close to its maximum they glowed as if imbued with an inner strength.

"Congratulations!"

"Thanks!" Her smile was as bright as her claws. "Now what?"

"Pull up it's properties a minute. I wanna see if its changed from the beta."

«Agility +3. Percentage chance to inflict Bleeding status 30%.»

"... Say what now?" I said, eyes widening in disbelief. "Thirty percent!? That's madness! It was only fifteen during the beta and that was at +5! This thing will definitely keep until the 5th Floor."

"I can't wait to try them out!" She exclaimed, practically hopping with excitement. "What's the questing goal for today?"

"Arashi's meeting up with his cousin and his cousin's friend." I answered. I had only got the message before turning in last night. "If it's fine with you, I'd like you to spend the day with them. Arashi's gonna help them level fast."

"What are you going to be doing?"

"I want to gauge player morale now that the 2nd Floor is open, so I'll be on the 1st Floor doing a lot of watching and listening."

"Creepy," she teased.

The only one I had had this conversation with so far was Arashi but my intention was to form a guild on the 3rd Floor. Arashi, Asuka and myself was a good start and judging by Arashi's message last night, his cousin, who was known in-game as «Jiro», was a damage-dealer whilst his friend, who went by the name «Shirozuki», was a sword and shield Tank. Both had indicated their desire to meet with us. So what was the rub? Leadership. The only thing we couldn't reconcile was leadership: I wanted it to be Arashi, as the guy was a leader on the battlefield, whilst Arashi wanted it to be me, because apparently I was what he called a people person. We hadn't gone as far as to argue about it, but we'd effectively reached a stalemate on the topic. At this rate it would likely be a vote amongst the prospective members, which could also lead to division. No, best Arashi and I come to some kind of agreement.

"Well, while you do that, I'm going to make a start on the nocturnal quests. I take it you're leaving now?"

"Yeah, there are still a good few players around Tolbana, so I want to get there before the afternoon."

"That's a long run!"

She should know: it was around Tolbana that Arashi and I had come to her rescue from the jaws of an «Alpha Dire Wolf». I couldn't believe that had happened only three days ago. I realized that I didn't want to go back to the two-man dynamic of myself and Arashi. The guy was solid - we were old school buddies - but he wasn't exactly Mr. Personality. Asuka, as I had claimed already, was a breath of fresh air.

"Have fun!"

She dissolved the party herself and for a minute I did act like a creep because I watched her leave, my eyes naturally gravitating to her ample ba- I slapped myself!

"Bad Kenji," I whispered, although I couldn't deny that there was an attraction. She was both beautiful and funny.

Still, Asuka hadn't been wrong. The journey ahead of me would only be possible in the virtual world because no normal person could travel the distance required in one day short of hopping on a plane or helicopter. They'd die of exhaustion.

The 1st Floor of Aincrad was the largest of the floating castles 100 Floors and the geography of the Floor was varied and mixed, with plentiful species of terrible beast more than willing to make a meal out of you. To the north-west of the Town of Beginnings was a forested area that lay beyond the wide-open plains, and to the north-east was a massive region whose main geographical obstacle was a lake. It didn't matter which region you passed through because both eventually led into a dangerous mountainous area with monsters far more dangerous than any preceding them. Only if you survived those obstacles could you reach the town of Tolbana. The forest was the safer route but also slower, the winding paths between the trees providing its own obstacle. That didn't mean the lake was devoid of risk either. Large bodies of water were probably one of the highest risks to players now that Sword Art Online was a death game.

Thankfully I wasn't using either route. Instead, I'd be heading backwards through the recently cleared labyrinth from the 2nd Floor, very close to Urbus. Despite having been cleared there were no shortage of groups - I encountered three in total - farming mobs and poking around for missed treasure chests. I highly doubted the existence of the latter - Diavel and his party had been pretty thorough mapping this place, but it was nice to see groups attempting to catch-up. The stone-paved floors and walls didn't seem as oppressive when you knew there were other plays nearby.

My mission to gauge player morale had got off to a good start.

It was just after 12:20 when I skidded to a halt inside the walled castle-like town of Tolbana.

"Hey, what kind of gear is there on the 2nd Floor?"

"It's a big savannah!"

"The front-runners are calling it the 'cow floor'."

"What's the quests like?"

Tolbana's main market place was still very active even with the 2nd Floor unlocked. Most of the players here fell into the middle-of-the-road category. They were below the level of the front-runners and did not have the kind of quality gear that could bridge the gap with superior stats. That said there was a general air of excitement with the players here. If the front-line was ever going to succeed then it needed more bodies. There was no getting around that. The Floor Bosses where powerful, tricky, with mechanics potentially different from what they had been in the beta test. Only coordination and teamwork would get us through this game until the end.

"Hey, Sheila! How many fetch quests we got left?"

"... Two,"

"Then it's onto the bandits!"

"We need help for that!"

The two players who whizzed past me, very nearly knocking into me in the process, I might add, shouted back quick apologies before disappearing behind a large fountain and out of sight. If I had to guess I'd put their age at no more than 12 or 13. Poor kids. Sword Art Online was recommended for ages 14+ but with every cool game ever released in human history the chances of people adhering to the age rating was almost unheard-of. In this case their curiosity to play the world's very first virtual reality MMO had resulted in their entrapment. Still, there was a bright side. They hadn't been traumatized as severely as some young people trapped in this game. I was aware of some players who refused to leave their inn rooms unless to eat.

I didn't know if there was a player-ran foodbank or something on the 1st Floor to make the feeding of players who refused to quest or hunt possible.

Beep-beep!

My display made the sound, indicating I had received a message, which I was not surprised to find had come from Asuka.

«How do you work with this man!? He's a slave driver! The two new guys look frightened.»

I didn't need clarification regarding said man's identity. I immediately knew she was talking about Arashi.

«Would be shocked if they weren't. Put up with it for a while longer: I should be back by evening.»

«If you aren't then it's your fault if I go crazy and scratch his face off with these new claws.»

Somehow I pictured Arashi with three scars running vertically down his face. He was intimidating to look at, even at the best of times, but somehow a scarred Arashi sent a shiver up my spine! The guy was nothing if not intense. Still, it was probably best if I warn her just who she was planning to cat scratch.

«Wouldn't recommend that. The guy's a cage fighter on the outside.»

«…...OMG! That explains so much! Talk later, have to bug him with questions.»

"Good luck Arashi," I thought.

My dinner was a long honey-flavoured bread roll with something resembling ham and mayonnaise filling inside, though the taste was way off. The mayonnaise was too sweet, the ham had a hint of spice that didn't so much as tickle your taste buds but give them a solid kick. The bread may have been advertised as honey-flavoured but it was probably the worst tasting honey I had ever swallowed. Two bites was all it took before I let the roll fall to the floor and disintegrate. In the real world I'd got dirty looks about littering but here in Aincrad food items lost their durability more or less the moment you dropped them, so litter of food at any rate was impossible. I'd have to remind Kayaba if I ever saw him, in addition to throwing him out the nearest window, that he'd conquered - at least partially - the problem of food waste.

It was just now hitting 14:12, and I was about to sign off and call my mission a success.

That was until I heard the voices of those two young girls who had very nearly crashed into me earlier. What was it they said? Something about fetch quests and needing help? They were standing on the edge of the safe zone that would take them out of Tolbana on the side farthest from the labyrinth and were talking to any player who passed by them. The girls appeared to be twins: one sported light coloured brown hair with equally light brown eyes, whilst the other was black haired with eyes a darker shade of brown. They were mirrors of one another in terms of appearance, down to the very clothes they wore. If it wasn't for the green cursor above their heads I would have mistaken the both of them as an NPC. Simple wool tops, leather trousers, and store-bought boots. What really caught my eye, however, was their complete lack of weapons of any kind.

In Sword Art Online a player's lifeline was their weapon; you lived and died by its quality, by its ability to deal damage. What hung from their belts wasn't a weapon, but rather a crafting tool. They weren't fighters but rather crafters!

Something altogether rare in SAO, actually. In fact, they were the first player crafters I had seen.

You could consider my curiosity piqued.

I watched the scene for a while, seeing their repeated pleas for quest help to be rebuffed at every turn. I even recognized some people they asked. Each time they asked, however, and got the same answer, their energy lessened. By the time I was about to offer them my own help their shoulders had slumped in defeat, and they looked thoroughly dejected. But I stopped. There was another player approaching and I returned to my seat to watch.

This player had darkly coloured skin and had seemingly stepped from the shadows of an alleyway running along the exterior wall and the closest building, indicating a high «Hiding» Skill. His entire face was obscured, his white mask covering his mouth and nose and a pair of equally white goggles covering his eyes, and his hair was styled backwards and up in a shape vaguely reminiscent of a spiky afro. A long leather jacket, sleeveless, descended to his knees, and wore underneath was a protective suit of studded leather armour. Hanging at his waist was an «Anneal Blade» which, even with the 2nd Floor opened, was a weapon even a front-runner wouldn't turn their nose up at. In terms of attack power and usefulness it was every bit the equal to my own «Scimitar».

I was close enough to eavesdrop without a Skill.

"I heard you two girls needed help."

"Yes, Mr!" The light-haired twin answered, her former energy seemingly restored. "We heard about good crafting gear from a quest called «Clearing Out The Storehouse». Have you heard of it?"

"I have indeed!" The man answered. I was immediately on full alert. "Quite dangerous for two non-combats. You are very wise to look for help."

His voice was obscured by the mask he wore, creating a distorted effect, but I was sure I had heard it before. I just couldn't place where! Still, I didn't like this. But I couldn't exactly act. Not yet at least. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong. Yet. Hell, what I was doing was just as bad. I was eavesdropping and spying! And I was about to add stalking to that list because in very short order the man had been paid, and he subsequently led them out of the safe zone and down south. My eyes shone green, indication that I had activated my «Searching» Skill, and I followed behind roughly 50 seconds behind. I had the «Tracking» Mod, which highlighted footsteps based on proficiency, and mine was new; at the minute I could track footsteps a minute-old.

Thankfully I knew the quest the girls had spoken about.

«Clearing Out The Storehouse» tasked the player with clearing out an NPC's storeroom. The room in question had originally served as a guard post built inside a small cave, but had come into the possession of an elderly NPC who had the space converted for storing trade goods. In something of a cliche the room inevitably fell into the hands of bandits and it was up to the player to clear them out. I'd completed it in the beta and knew it was designed for a party of between two and four players between levels 4 and 6. The rewards were paltry from a warrior's perspective but two of the bandits in particular were crafters - a blacksmith and tailor. These dropped crafting tools equivalent to the store-bought items on the 3rd Floor.

I was impressed that the girls even knew about that though.

"Now, if you want to complete the quest, then you'll give me the rest of your money."

I wasn't close enough to hear the particulars, especially with his voice muffled as it was with the mask, but I did hear the squeal quickly stifled.

"Dick move," I whispered, suddenly furious.

I fired off a quick message to Arashi:

«Might not make our meeting this evening. I'll explain later but chances are high I'm about to go orange.»

«Keep me posted.»

I was close to the mouth of the cave and was currently behind the group. I could see the man with the afro - his cursor had turned orange - and he was very near to the wall. The girls had managed to back up away from him, but were blocked by the cave, so if I was going to do anything then I'd need to do it now. My Skill slots did not include «Sprint» - what I did have however was a decent Agility stat and a very good Strength stat. I ran right at the wall, leapt high, took three strides along the walls surface, before finally launching myself off! I landed lightly and spun around quickly, my «Scimitar» hissing from its blackened sheath.

"Whatthfuwatha," he exclaimed, his expletive effectively lost in his own surprise.

"Good afternoon!"

I risked a look over my shoulder at the girls. Their shoulders were slumped, tears were falling freely down their cheeks, and they were shaking! My hand tightened on the hilt of my «Scimitar» but none of that anger reached my eyes or altered my tone.

"Sit tight, kids. I've got this and then I'll help you both with your quest. Just stay behind me, alright?"

They nodded, their eyes filled with equal parts fear and surprise. When I sent them a party invite the black-haired girl tapped a few options on her menu, probably dissolving her current party with Loki, and then their names materialized below my own. «Elise» and «Sheila» were their names and my anger outright tripled when I noticed that Sheila's - the black-haired one - HP bar was not full. They saw my own name followed by me level, which was currently 14, and they both gasped in surprise. I heard them whisper amongst themselves that I must be a front-runner.

"As for you," and suddenly my voice was dripping acid. "You're going to disappear."

"And if I don't?"

My smile was predatory.

"I go orange and you turn into polygons. Either way you disappear."

What a lot of people didn't know about me was the exact nature of my beta testing experience. You see, I wasn't a normal player; I helped clear the labyrinth's and defeat the Field Bosses, but my real skill lay in player-killing. I was one of those players who killed other players for sport, or because I liked the weapon they had. The prolificness of my player-killing had earned me an epithet: «The Reaper». Afro didn't recognize me, it seemed, because a duel notification popped up on my display, challenging me to a «Half Loss Duel». Spineless chicken. I was more than prepared to carry this through to its natural conclusion, reputation be damned. It took a special kind of lowly snake to target two children and try to rob them! His name was «Loki» and suddenly my beta brain was firing on all cylinders! I knew this asshole from the beta. He was originally a dagger wielder who had «Mixing» slotted. He was actually one of the first players amongst the beta testers who had been able to mix himself poison and paralysis effects into food and drink. Poor Loki had also fallen victim to my blade in the beta quite a few times.

I accepted without hesitation and watched the sixty-second timer start to tick down.

"You're going to lose." I said, voice as cold as ice.

One second before the timer turned to zero I began the «Pre-Motion» for Reaver. My sword cut deeply into his sword-arm the moment the timer indicated zero - which was when a duel legally began, so technically I hadn't broken any rules at all - and watched as the arm holding his «Anneal Blade» went spinning away from his body!

"Son of a-"

The «Martial Art» Sword Skill Crescent Moon, which I initiated before my «Post-Motion» took effect, impacted him below the chin as I back-flipped away, effectively shutting him up! Loki landed heavily on the broad of his back, the air knocked from his lungs, and I completed my delay long before he even made an attempt to return to his feet. During my wait a large VICTORY flashed before my eyes. The duel was over; more than half of Loki's HP was gone in only two attacks, with the entire fight having taken me only 4 seconds to finish.

"Tell me something: do you remember the Reaper from the beta? I wouldn't mind going orange to take out trash like you. I'm going to count to 5. If you aren't gone by the time I hit 3 you'll be nothing but a name on the monument in the Town of Beginnings."

His eyes went wide in shock - he definitely recognized me now - and suffice to say he did not stick around to test my threat. He even left his dropped «Anneal Blade» which, of course, I took for myself.

"Well, I suppose all's well-"

The words never left my mouth and were instead replaced with a quickly stifled groan! I was convinced that the system only intervened with warning prompts if you somehow saw the contact made as threatening or unwanted, because no such prompt popped up on my display when the girls tackled me around the midsection and all three of us tumbled to the floor! There were tears and thanks and snot followed by yet more tears and thanks, and before long I was fairly sure my leather coat had been used as a snot rag on more than one occasion.

They disentangled their arms from around me long enough for me to return to my feet.

"So, what exactly are you two looking for out of this quest?" I asked.

They shared a hesitant look but the dark-haired twin eventually stepped forward.

"Crafting drops."

"Let me guess: you two are after the «Heirloom Hammer» and «Heirloom Sewing Kit», right?"

They nodded in unison.

"Stay in sight, I've got this."

As I had already said the quest was designed for a group of between two and four between levels 4 and 6. My level was 14 and more than enough to power through the quest. But I didn't go right for the «Bandit Leader». There was a trick to this quest: so long as the leader remained, then the bandits continued to respawn. The blacksmith and tailor included. This allowed you to essentially farm the two until you got the required drops, which happened for me after roughly an hour and a half of battle. The «Bandit Leader» was likewise easily dispatched and the moment he died this leg of the quest was considered complete and all that remained was for us to return to Tolbana and get our rewards. As for the twins I opened up a trading window and gave them their desired rewards alongside everything else I had received as loot. An «Anneal Blade» was reward enough for my time - it was worth at least 16,000 cor if I chose to sell it.

I was conflicted though.

"What are you girls going to do now?"

I asked this question as we made our way back to Tolbana. They didn't answer but the nervous look on both their faces was all the answer I needed. Except for the outpouring of thanks I had received the energy that they had displayed all day was gone; they walked along behind me, dragging their feet all the while, and their lips were trembling. They would likely retreat to an inn room after this and never trust another player again.

I had a decision to make.

I could take them along with me to the 2nd Floor. Arashi would be livid - and that said I still needed to message him back - but Asuka would likely be happy enough with their presence. Or I could leave them in Tolbana and reinforce every negative stigma ever directed at a beta tester since this death game began. No, that wasn't an option. All I saw when I looked at those girls were my own nieces. Arashi would just have to make do.

In short order we returned to Tolbana and officially completed the quest.

"So, I guess-"

The girls clamped tightly to one of my arms apiece, effectively holding me in place, and refused to let go! If this was an anime I'd be the protagonist waving his arms around in a futile effort to dislodge them, but this wasn't an anime. Sadly this was real-life, and we were trapped in a virtual death scape.

My mind had already been made-up but if anything their reaction to what they thought was my departure just served to reinforce my decision.

"Come on, I'm going to the 2nd Floor, and you're both welcome to join me. We'll be passing through the labyrinth, though, so be sure and stay behind me."

I was right. Arashi was livid. I honestly thought the guy was going to blow a gasket somewhere down the road but before he could get into a proper mood for scolding Asuka leapt down his throat and shut him down in two seconds flat! It was kind of intimidating really; never had I known Arashi to back down so quickly, and never had I seen Asuka so angry. With that, though, we added the two crafters to our party, in addition to Arashi's cousin and his friend.

I'll let you in on a secret. Elise and Sheila, despite only being level 4, saved our backsides more times than I can count. The gear they forged for us was exceptional in its quality.

But I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself.


	4. The Business of Grinding

You can go right ahead and add me kicking Kayaba Akihiko firmly in the fork of the legs before I throw him out a window! I was pretty annoyed, and in more ways than one, this morning, and every single thread linking to my anger could trace itself back to Kayaba bloody Akihiko! It was the morning of December 7th 2022 and according to my display it was 05:55. My alarm bell was due in exactly 5 minutes, but I cancelled it. I'd spent almost the entire night awake anyway.

Seething anger tended to have that effect. It was also one helluva wake up pill.

I was also incredibly uncomfortable but that was secondary. Besides, you'd soon find out why.

My displeasure this morning was attributable to the two young twins' who had latched onto me yesterday and refused to let go. Okay, that wasn't fair. I wasn't angry at the girls - I was angry with Loki and secondly with Kayaba, not the girls. They were just the catalyst that loosed the lid on my anger. Arashi was the man who usually harboured violent thoughts and acted on them; he was a cage fighter, after all. It kind of came with the territory. In comparison, I was considered the 'big brother' of the group - everyone got along with me, and I was often said to be the soul of the party. Me flying off the handle and acting like Arashi was far from my usual mentality.

Yet here I lay seriously considering the murder of another person. And do you really want to know something? I was serious. What really frightened me though is that it didn't seem wrong to me.

Let's backtrack a little though to give some context.

As I promised, I took the girls through the labyrinth with me to the 2d Floor of Aincrad, where they were introduced to my friends. The reactions to my intent to essentially take in two kids not even yet into their teenage years had gone exactly as I had envisioned. As expected, Arashi had almost blown a gasket, but thankfully Asuka was on-hand to shut him up. She did so quickly as well that it was actually kind of frightening! Arashi's cousin, Jiro, who appeared to be far quieter and altogether more amicable than Arashi, didn't appear to have an opinion either way. Jiro's friend, who preferred the shortened name of Shiro, likewise wasn't bothered by their presence; Arashi, beaten by the majority, had kept his peace since then, but had sulked like a child for the remainder of the evening. It certainly added a new dimension to the celebrations. Thing was, I had kind of gate-crashed a party. You see, after I got the girls introduced around the team and settled in, I realized that the team had arranged something of a celebratory drink to mark the occasion of Arashi and Jiro reuniting. This, of course, had started before I got there. It was all very nice; stories were traded and jokes told, people got to know one another, and the twins gave a few renditions of their favourite Disney songs when the subject of no entertainment came up.

It was all very weird. Never before had I thought Aincrad a suitable location for anyone to belt out Frozen's "Let it Go!" or Moana's "How Far I'll Go" but the girls absolutely killed it!

My trouble and another reason for my sour mood, came after we decided to call it a night and hit our beds. The twins' refused to be left alone! Asuka offered to let them sleep in her room, bless her, but they wouldn't stay with anyone other than me. Even Shiro, whom I was convinced had kids of his own based on how well he could communicate with them, failed to sway their minds towards staying with Asuka. Arashi and Jiro had nothing further to add, Arashi calling them "my problem", and the cousins had promptly retired with no further word on the subject. Our rooms had already been rented so my luxurious double bed with the firm mattress was occupied by the twins whilst poor me was laid out on the bedroll I kept in my inventory.

Hence, my discomfort. I was sleeping on a blasted brick!

I could have handled that though. One of the highlights of the virtual world was that one's back and joints were generally unaffected by sleeping rough. In the real world I'd have been crippled without my orthopaedic mattress! Here I could sleep on a clothesline and not be the least bit affected. The part that really bugged me though - and I mean left me so livid that I'd spend the whole night awake seriously contemplating murder - was when the girls asked me to sleep by the door to the room.

"So he can't get to us," the light-haired Elise had said to me.

Blood and ashes! In what world was that a normal statement for a 12-year-old?

When it hit 06:00 the girls, roused by their respective alarms, began to wake. I pushed my anger aside and adopted what I hoped was an expression that showed a well-rested person, and not someone who'd spent the entire night nursing dark thoughts and murderous intent. As I lacked a mirror - there was one buried deep in my inventory somewhere I knew - I couldn't tell if I succeeded or not. Before they fully woke I switched out my pyjamas, which I had to admit was some stripped monstrosity even my grandfather wouldn't have been caught dead in, and donned my usual padded leather outfit with protective studs. Thanks to the convenience of equipment manifestation in SAO the entire procedure was completed in less than five seconds. The blackened sheath of my trusty «Scimitar» hung lightly from my waist.

"Good morning," I greeted.

"G'morning'," came their sleepy reply.

I suppressed a chuckle. Sheila was all but hidden under a mop of black-coloured bed-head, the only indication she was awake being the hand that rubbed at her dark-brown eyes. Elise, meanwhile, managed to look at least somewhat dignified. She was up and alert, hair combed to neatness, in under a minute.

"You lost in there, Sheila?" I asked, a smile on my face.

Her no doubt scathing reply was effectively muffled by the combination of hair and bed sheets.

We were the first to arrive at the breakfast table though Asuka followed only moments later.

"Morning," she greeted. "You… don't look like you slept at all."

It wasn't a question. Thankfully the twins were so absorbed in their ordering that they barely paid us any attention.

"That bad, eh?" I asked, shrugging. "Yeah, well, let's just say my thoughts weren't very conducive to pleasant dreams."

"... I can imagine." She ordered without missing a beat and continued right where she had left off. "What are you going to do?"

"That depends on Loki and whether he heeds my threat. If he stays away, all well and good. If he doesn't… well, I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get to it."

I seriously hoped he stayed away. I had spent a great deal of time last night doing some soul-searching and the results scared the absolute hell out of me. Because apparently I was the kind of person who could contemplate murder and find the entire scenario perfectly justified.

"Shall we change the subject before we spoil our appetites?" Asuka asked me. "Speaking of, your breakfast is here."

I hadn't even seen the NPC deliver it. I also hadn't noticed that Asuka had ordered for me as well.

"Thanks,"

The morning flew by. Arashi and I hashed out exactly what our plans were going forward now that we had the young Elise and Sheila amongst our ranks, whilst Jiro and Shiro conversed with Asuka and the twins. You see, we couldn't just leap into the front-line areas and start knocking out quests and farming hunting zones. Arashi and I were still leaps and bounds ahead of the others in terms of level and equipment. With that in mind we decided that Arashi would take Asuka, Jiro and Shiro and head to the labyrinth on the 1st Floor for intensive farming. Whilst he did that I'd be running mostly fetch quests with the twins here on the 2nd Floor with the goal of increasing them from level 4 to level 6 in order to open up their third skill slot. Thankfully they were already quite close to level 5 courtesy of my bandit farming yesterday.

But before we started that I stopped Shiro before he left with the others.

"Hold up, Shiro."

"What's up?"

"You've either been really unlucky with gear drops or you've got a sentimental attachment to your equipment."

I hoped I wasn't coming across as a know it all but the truth was that Shiro's current equipment load out was bare bones at best, and the way he slowly nodded his head told me I had hit the nail on the head. He was a sword and shield Tank and while his equipment did convey that fact he wore «Medium Metal Armour» I knew came from the more expensive markets in the Town of Beginnings. At present, he wore simple «Bronze Armour» with a bulky metallic protective pauldron on the off-hand to maximize defensive coverage when equipped with a shield. His trousers were padded leather with the legs disappearing into a pair of bronze greaves and his gloves were lightweight leather with only a small bronze overlay on the backhand and wrist. Hanging from his belt was a «Small Sword» buffed to its max at +1 because it shone with a dim light.

"I doubt its sentimental." I continued.

He chuckled.

"Bad drops," he answered. "I figured my luck would turn eventually but RNGesus hasn't been kind."

"RN who?" Asuka, grinning, asked me.

Teacher me answered before realizing the trap.

"It's a portmanteau of random number generator and Jesus. Remember your claws? People have been known to 'pray to RNGesus' whenever they need a really rare drop. RNG is a game system that controls chance-based-"

"Thanks, teach!"

It was only at that point that I realized she knew what the term meant from the start. Once again I found myself falling victim to her particular brand of deviousness but I wasn't worried on that front. Her question, my answer, and her subsequent quip had got the group laughing. She really was good at reading the room. That said, I would get her back later.

I returned my attention to Shiro and opened up my menu interface and then selected the «Trade» function.

"This might help."

The words weren't out of my mouth more than two or three seconds before Arashi was repeating the same thing on his end. In mere moments Shiro's face did a complete turnabout! In the couple of seconds it took to doff his old gear and equip the stuff we had just given him we all spied the man beneath the armour. He was ripped! The man was taller than I was, with a body even I was ogling, and he sported strikingly coloured long red hair tied up in a tight braid. He either had a really physical job in real life or spent almost all his time in the gym because I was fairly sure I had just seen the physique of an Olympic athlete. The only member of our current party who even came close to rivalling Shiro's physique was Arashi, and I was pretty sure I just saw the flame of rivalry begin to burn in Arashi's grey eyes.

Asuka's appreciative whistle indicated that she certainly appreciated the brief glimpse.

"I'm a carpenter who eats right." Shiro answered, as if this reply was rehearsed, his cheeks colouring slightly. "Also happily married." The last he said to Asuka before his face relaxed into a smile. "Sorry!"

"You can be eye candy and still be married, right?"

In place of his old gear Shiro now wore Arashi's old tin soldier getup in the form of his old «Iron Armour» and, like Arashi, he had opted against a helmet. Instead, he favoured a non-protective cloth bandanna with golden tribal designs against black cloth. Instead of being «Medium Metal Armour» his new suit was «Heavy Metal Armour» and I was fairly confident that he had now just switched his Skills to highlight the change.

"This is awesome, thank you." He said.

"You haven't looked at what I gave you yet." I pointed out.

"Oh, sorry! It got buried under Arashi's gifts."

His eyes nearly popped out of his skull! Shiro's old weapon had been the starting equipment of almost every player in the game; the sole difference being that he had managed to successfully enhance his, which went a small way to increasing its lifespan. But the fact remained that it sucked. No two ways about it. What I just gave him was infinitely superior in every way imaginable.

"It's an «Anneal Blade»…! Kishi, this thing sells for an absolute fortune right now! Are you sure you just want to give me this?"

"Consider it my welcoming gift." I answered, all the while shaking the big man's offered hand. "Besides, I've already been paid for it."

The currency, however, hadn't been paid in cor. Only the twins knew where I had actually got the «Anneal Blade» from and their smile was both knowing and thankful at the same time. I had no way of knowing at present though just how much those girls would help our cause in this game. But again, I'm getting ahead of myself.

"Looks good," Jiro interjected.

Up until now he had been talking quietly with Arashi. That was his way however. Arashi had told me a little about his cousin: he was a programmer, an only child, and something of a recluse. In fact, his only real friend was Shiro. The guy couldn't look any different from Arashi despite their familial relationship. Arashi's hair was as black as the ace of spades, Jiro's was as blonde as a Barbie doll, and they couldn't be more different in terms of physicality or personality even if you had personally randomized everything about them. As already said Arashi was built similarly to Shiro and had something of a temper. Jiro, meanwhile, was slight of build with thin arms and long limbs, and the only way I could describe his personality was subdued.

I hoped that changed in the coming weeks.

Equipment wise he was a damage-dealer like myself. The difference was player build: I was a Strength and Agility mix who leaned more on Strength. Jiro focused on Strength and Accuracy which, considering his weapon was a two-handed spear with tremendous piercing power and heightened chance to land critical hits, made sense. His gear was likewise different from mine with a very different stat distribution. I favoured mobility as you already knew with minimal protection outside key areas. Jiro, meanwhile, wore «Light Metal Armour». His cuirass, greaves, gloves and hips all sported lightweight armour that reflected the morning sun.

"We're wasting daylight."

It was a very Arashi-like statement and served to realign our shifting focus.

"And you're right!" I followed up. "Elise, Sheila, you're with me today. Everyone else goes with Arashi and all I can say is good luck."

"Kill me now," Asuka pleaded as she walked out the door with Jiro and Shiro.

Before Arashi could leave however I stopped him short.

"What's up with your face?"

He gave me a rare smile.

"Someone who shall remain nameless threatened to 'scratch my face off', so I made it look like she did."

Arashi wore several tattoos on his face that hadn't been there when Asuka and I cleared quests in Urbus on the 5th of December. The first comprised a set of three scars straight over his right eye that continued down his cheek, the second comprised a "69" on his left cheek, whilst the third consisted of a blue-stripe tattoo that ran across his left cheek and over the bridge of his nose. All in all my musings about a scarred Arashi proved true: the guy was absolutely frightening to look at!

"Have fun."

I had no need to invite the twins to my party; they had been a mainstay ever since I came to their aid against Loki yesterday. No, bad Kenji. Stop thinking about Loki. There was no need to sour my mood all over again.

"Where are we going today!?" Elise asked, with all her usual energy restored. "I love sight-seeing!"

"... Elise, stop smothering him." Sheila added.

My smile was genuine.

"Questing and farming with a sprinkle of sight-seeing? I suppose I could manage that. Shall we?"

Before going anywhere however I made a point of investing in the twins combat ability. «Throwing Picks» were throwing weapons that provided a player with ranged options, though the damage they caused was low even amongst general non-Sword Skill attacks. Still, the damage they did cause contributed to the experience points gained when a mob died, and this was exactly why I was buying them. For armour, I outfitted them in lightweight leather tunics with metallic breast plates, studded leather skirts, cloth leggings, fur-lined gloves and boots, and ridiculous looking leather caps. There were some complaints about how awful it looked - and they weren't wrong - but I put my foot down on this topic and soon my goal of levelling them began in earnest.

"Say, Kishi," Sheila began to ask, "do you know if there are any-"

"Yup, I know where there's a sweet shop."

"Told you he'd know!" Elise chimed in.

Maybe I was clairvoyant? Or maybe Asuka's suggestion of taking them to a sweet shop had tipped me off? I wasn't telling. Couldn't lose my mystique factor.

And that was pretty much how my day went from there. I ran from pillar to post, from marketplace to some NPC house on quest-related business, from house loft to tavern cellar, and from the top of bleeding Aincrad to the bottom of it! Okay, that last part may have been an exaggeration, but I think you get the picture. I covered a helluva lot of ground today. And the two kids who had attached themselves to me weren't even the tiniest bit tired! Like, at all. The sun was beginning to set, my yawns were coming thick and fast, and still these twins were running about the place like something half demented! It didn't half make me feel older than my actual age of 26 suggested.

But our mission was wholly successful: they were both level 6.

"Let's head back." I suggested. "I need a nap."

My journey back was filled with heckles from the twins calling me an old man. When I reacted with over-the-top anger and chased them through the streets of Urbus they ran from me with playful laughter, all the while hurling what I hoped was apples at me. One exploded against my forehead, soaking me in juices, and this of course made them laugh even louder! By the time we spilled in the front door of our inn Arashi's levelling party had already returned and all their eyes fell on the scene of two twins skidding lithely around the door frame and ducking behind a table, whilst I barrelled through the front door like a battering ram only to collide heavily with the staircase!

It wasn't stars that circled around my head but rather the highlights of the purple barrier that sprang up whenever an indestructible object was hit with sufficient force.

"Owwwww!"

It was Asuka who hauled me to my feet.

"Having fun?"

"Whale of a time!" I answered, obviously dazed. "Is it possible to be concussed in SAO? 'Cause I think I am."

She left me and returned to the table were the twins now stood.

"Have fun today?"

"Yup! Kishi took us all over Urbus!" Elise answered. "Look at all the material I got!"

Alarm bells began going off in my head but rather than warn my friends I ducked beneath the counter tucked into the stairways side. I ignored the pestering of the NPC clerk who, after several seconds without an answer, rolled her eyes and went back to her designed routine. Elise, you see, manoeuvred to the «Materialize All» function buried in the player's inventory menu and within seconds there wasn't a man, woman or child who wasn't covered from head-to-toe in an avalanche of animal skins, monster parts, pieces of clothing, something that smells vaguely of fish, and small pastries! Well, there was one person unaffected, and I was pretty sure the NPC clerk was looking at me with hatred numerous degrees of magnitude higher than before.

"Oops," Elise sounded.

"Glad that wasn't my inventory." Sheila quipped.

The prevailing sound was laughter, but I was pretty sure a volcano was about to erupt, and its name was Arashi.

"GET THIS SHIT OFF OF ME!"

By the time we got Arashi calmed down and everything back where it belonged in Elise's inventory, the girls were fast asleep at the table. Shiro and I ferried them to my bedroom and set them gently on the bed. It looked likely the floor was again going to be my mattress tonight.

"You look like you had a good time today."

It was Asuka.

"I actually did."

She patted me affectionately on the chest, called me a big softie, and finally wished me goodnight. I returned the sentiment before settling down to sleep on my bedroll. All things considered the day had been a massive success. Everyone in Arashi's party had gained a level; Jiro was now Level 10, Shiro was also Level 10, Asuka was now Level 9, and Arashi himself had jumped to Level 13. I was unchanged at Level 14 whilst the twins were sitting sweet at Level 6.

Very nice.


	5. The Eventful Taurus

It was amazing how convoluted some randomly generated events were in Sword Art Online. The only two things - and they were quite sizeable things, I had to admit - that differentiated SAO from other massively multiplayer online games was the fact it was a FullDive virtual reality game that immerses the player in the game's world, and the second was the system that governed the game and everything in it. Quests a player undertook tended to have their own journal entries providing background and lore, and it seemed that any of these lore mentions could be manifested at any time as a one-time event by the system. The outcome of some quests could even be felt by players not currently engaged in it, as well. If I was to walk up and murder the primary quest-giver on the 2nd Floor town of Urbus, for example, the subsequent quests might be the same name, but other players would likely be led down a very different route.

See what I mean by convoluted?

Okay, I'll admit it: my gaming head was on because things were currently slow going, and to be perfectly honest, I was trying to focus my thoughts on something else. It was currently the 14th of December 2022 and our go-slow shoes were on firmly. Arashi made it quite clear in no uncertain terms who he blamed for this. He claimed that he and I should be on the front-line already and not rotting away here when, right this minute, Lind and Kibaou were leading a raid party in an attempt to clear the 2nd Floor labyrinth. What bugged the hell out of me though is that I couldn't disagree with his claims. It was me who had welcomed Asuka into our ranks and it was me who had adopted two twins who couldn't level in the traditional sense alongside us because they were crafters, not fighters, and both these decisions had set our pace back a good spell. The difference, though, was that I was willing to admit this. Arashi failed to see that he was equally responsible when he invited his cousin and his friend to join us.

I remembered our last exchange well. It had only occurred yesterday evening.

"Our slow pace is all on you!" Arashi bellowed, loud enough that our comrades probably heard him in the adjacent room regardless. "We should be in that labyrinth with the others tomorrow."

My aqua-green eyes flashed angrily.

"Then go."

My reply was sharper than I intended it to be and the moment I heard my tone I inhaled sharply and counted to ten. I couldn't lose Arashi. If something happened to him, and I wasn't there to pull his backside from the fire, then I'd never forgive myself and I really would murder Kayaba Akihiko, only the means involved would not be as simple as throwing the man from the nearest high window.

"Look, we have responsibilities. Even you have to see that."

"Responsibility, you say!? It wasn't me who adopted two kids! That's all on you!"

"Really?" I answered, tone even despite my inner anger. "You don't see how you share some blame in this? Or have I imagined Jiro and Shiro partying with us since you hooked up with Jiro?"

Sure, neither was 12 years old. But that wasn't the point Arashi was making. He was arguing a slowness of progression in general and this applied to Jiro and Shiro the same way it applied to Elise and Sheila. He realized this himself, for Arashi narrowed his eyes but didn't immediately bite back, because he saw the trap right below his feet. I was well-used to Arashi's temper; he and I were old school buddies, and to be honest this wasn't the first time we had a disagreement. It wouldn't be the last either. The man was like a short-lived volcano; he was explosive and fiery in the beginning, but he soon cooled in his skin. Today was no different. He wasn't even angry with me or even the others - not really. He was railing against his surroundings and circumstances and the fact he was trapped in a video game of all things, and I happened to be the lightning rod attracting all his focused anger.

That, though, I didn't mind. It was a jacket I was used to wearing. The guy could be a true pain in the backside at times, sure, but he was my pain.

"Look, I'm going to be frank with you. I don't give a fuck about joining the front-line at the minute. You and I might be ready but the others aren't."

I wasn't one to swear at the best of times. My gaming channel in real life was viewed by children right up to young adults and I had learned the hard way that the language you used was a powerful tool that could quickly shut you down. If you cursed like a sailor just pulled into port and craving a pint of the cheapest ale, did it really come as a great surprise to you when people didn't take you seriously? Like anything, there was a time and a place. There was also the fact I had two young nieces similar in age to Elise and Sheila who I liked to set a good example for, so the fact I swore at all should be taken as a good indication of just how annoyed I was with Arashi at the minute.

Counting to ten helps, I had to admit, and my features softened.

"I think you know that too."

When I looked to gauge Arashi's next impulse I noticed that there was a visible struggle: snap back or back down. Arashi was a cage fighter well-suited to the former, but in this case he picked the latter, thankfully, and backed down. He exhaled loudly and with that one action his tension seemed to drain away with the air expelled from his lungs.

"I'm sorry, it's just-"

"I know."

I clapped him on the shoulder and led him back into the adjoining room. Asuka, whose face was a calm mask disguising her inner fury, Shiro, who looked disinterested in pretty much everything, Jiro, whose features were schooled to stillness, all sat around a small circular table. The twins had been here with them, talking energetically with Asuka and Shiro, prior to my conversation with Arashi and I took the time to scan the room for them. I had to admit to some panic when I realized that they weren't around.

Asuka sensed my apprehension, however, and allayed my fears.

"I sent them up to your room." She revealed, with daggers in her eyes for Arashi. "Thankfully before Arashi opened his big mouth."

"Look here-"

The volcano was bubbling again, I feared, but my worry was misplaced. It seemed Asuka had Arashi's measure for she cut into his statement with perfect ease.

"No, you look here, and listen." Asuka cut him off with a tone as sharp as a finely honed razor. "Those two kids didn't ask to be trapped in a death game! Just like the rest of us, and they certainly didn't set out to get robbed or assaulted by another player. You," and she pointed her finger right at him, "need to back off. Like it or not, your attitude is not helping their confidence."

She never shouted once. Her tone was angry; there was no getting around that, but as I listened to her I got the impression that I was watching an adult admonish a misbehaving child.

Instead of speaking or even apologizing, however, Arashi's face revealed a half smile for the briefest of moments before he turned on his heel and walked away. Jiro left his seat at the table to follow after Arashi, whose steps took him upstairs, and I took his vacated seat at the table beside Asuka and opposite Shiro. Shiro had been quiet, his eyes downcast and expression disinterested throughout the whole scenario, and he was now shaking his head. His forehead was furrowed in thought and for the first time since meeting him I felt genuine annoyance in him. The man had proven himself a solid Tank and a lot of that had to do with his personality. He was calm, didn't bow to pressure, and was genuinely invested in his team-mates well-being. And he was great with the twins. So to see him annoyed was something new to me.

"Shiro, you okay?"

Again, it was Asuka who spoke, and the change in tone was readily identifiable.

"Arashi reminds me of some players I had the unfortunate joy to meet on the 1st Floor." He began. "They focused so much on combat Skills that they failed to see how other, non-combat Skills, could be useful to a party."

He fixed me with a hard thousand-yard stare.

"Those players are now dead unfortunately. Not to speak ill of them or anything but it was their own fault and it all stemmed from their own pig-headedness. If you're going to say anything to Arashi, tell him this: He needs to broaden his horizons."

With that said he excused himself and retired to his bed.

And that was where Asuka and I had left it for the night as well. Suffice to say the atmosphere hadn't exactly been conducive to efficient levelling when we pulled ourselves out of bed the morning after. The twins, for one, said they were going to complete some quests on the 1st Floor by themselves, which left Arashi, Asuka, Shiro, Jiro and myself free to do some questing here on the 2nd Floor. I had tried to speak to the twins, but they had run off before I could get a word in edgewise, but I did get a message from Sheila.

«I'll tell you everything this evening. Have fun!»

«You too.»

That was how we came to be standing outside the 2nd Floor labyrinth. It was the location with the strongest monsters we could face at the moment without stepping on the toes of the clearing group attempting to conquer the labyrinth. That said, our location was about to respawn with monsters, so I wouldn't have the luxury of standing about and ruminating on last night's events for much longer.

"How are you holding up with potions?"

My question was directed at Shiro. In a concentrated effort to increase the proficiency of his «Heavy Metal Armour» and «Shield» Skills he had volunteered to be the primary Tank in our battles today. Shiro, his friend Jiro, and Asuka were all at Level 12, and thus had their fourth Skill Slots unlocked. Taran was a town situated quite close to the labyrinth, but we hadn't yet returned to the town for gear maintenance or item restocking. His «Iron Armour» was quite durable and the «Anneal Blade» hanging from his waist had been buffed to +3 (2D1S) so it was looking quite good. Jiro, meanwhile, was also running as our primary DPS.

"I've got four left."

I halved my own supply and dropped three into my trade window and fired them off to him.

"Twenty seconds!"

It was Arashi who bellowed this and, as usual, the guy's booming voice carried well over any other background noise or conversation taking place. Asuka had been talking quietly with Jiro at the time and the two jumped in surprise. This was followed by a pebble resounding off the metallic shoulder pad of Arashi's chest-plate courtesy of Asuka.

I checked the status of my own DoT buff and found it blinking, indicating that it was about to run out, and when I scanned the icon beside Asuka's name I found the same to be true of her. Digging into my inventory I removed two takeaway variants of the «Moo Moo Cheesecake» I had first introduced to Asuka ten days ago and called her over.

"We're about to blink out." I said. "Bon appétit!"

We finished just as the monsters began respawning, Asuka walking off, so we were all spread out. We all assumed ready stances, but nothing appeared to hinder us. In fact, everything was still. An eerily quiet atmosphere had settled over us all and I began to wonder what was about to happen next.

That was when the ground started shaking.

"The hell?" I asked.

"What is it?" Shiro, who approached me, asked.

I didn't know exactly what was coming but I could draw some conclusions based on my experiences in the beta, but Shiro and Jiro did not share that knowledge. The shaking suddenly intensified! Shiro staggered back into me just as I was about to shout a warning at Asuka to move, and the two of us tumbled to the floor instead. Jiro managed to keep his footing by jabbing his spear into the ground and using it to steady himself, but he was not a beta tester. He didn't know what was coming. Unfortunately Asuka was right in the path of a charging ox and the shaking of the ground had resulted in her losing her footing.

"Asuka!"

I was powerless to help, and I was about to curse myself for a fool, but I was also being very forgetful. There was a fifth member of our party this morning who all of us had been mostly ignoring in the hopes of avoiding another argument, and this was Arashi. Who, usually, was our primary Tank. Like me he had been a beta tester and unlike me he had managed to keep his footing. In seconds Arashi had moved between Asuka and the ox, his back facing the monster, and my worry outright tripled when he threw her over his shoulder. He was going to get skewered right alongside her! So when his two-handed sword glowed yellow, and he suddenly shifted his position, with Asuka still slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, I was never so surprised in all my life. The system recognized the activation stance for «Back Rush», which was a counter-based defensive Sword Skill only usable when the person initiating it was attacked from behind, and began cycling him through the animation. The system assist kicked in, increasing the player's reactions beyond human limits, which allowed them to avoid the incoming blow and deliver a powerful counter-stroke in reprisal! I would have pumped my fist had I been able.

His two-handed sword struck the ox right in the flank and an impossibly loud roar resonated through the area! Asuka took this chance to whisper her thanks and back away. Arashi subsequently solidified his aggro with a hearty «Howl».

"Shiro, you're relegated to back up!"

The wonderful thing about «Back Rush» is that it possessed hardly any post-motion delay so Arashi wasn't frozen. Conversely, it possessed quite a large cooldown timer. He wouldn't be using it again for a while.

"Kishi, get off the floor! You should know better. Asuka and you are on DoT duty. Cap a «Leaver» in its ass. Jiro, wait for openings and stun it!"

Jiro was one of the few players I knew who used a «Spear». His reach probably exceeded mine even with a charging Skill aimed skywards and the Skill-tree associated with polearms possessed a number of paralysing effects and stat-lowering attacks. He had «Weak Point Sensing», which at present increased his critical hit percentage, and «Armour Pierce», which opened up additional debuffing options.

"Got it!"

I called back as Shiro and I returned to our feet. Shiro took up position a little back from where Arashi stood, in a position allowing him to interpose himself between us and the ox should it manage to get past Arashi. Speaking of the ox, however, I was finally getting a good look at it. His name - «Zagan the Exile» - and HP bar - 5 bars! - indicated that he was a Boss of some kind, probably related in some way to the ox men of the 2nd Floor labyrinth. Zagan was about as tall as the average two-story house, had shining white eyes, was as wide as a bus, with arms and legs as thick as tree trunks. His weapon of choice was a large axe but its size and scope was more akin to a telegraph pole with a steel axe-head than a standard axe. Calling him an ox hadn't exactly been the correct terminology. He was closer to a Minotaur.

Suffice to say we were about to step into the crucible.

What I couldn't figure out was the emblem on his forehead but I didn't have time to think much about it either.

Zagan targeted Arashi with its opening attack and as a two-handed axe user Zagan used actual Sword Skills.

What scared the bejesus out of me though is that Zagan was winding up with «Crescent Avalanche»! For the uninitiated that was a seven-hit combination attack that had a pretty good chance of wrecking pretty much anything.

"Arashi, move!"

"Get ready to hit his flank!"

Zagan brought his green-wreathed axe down on Arashi's head. He avoided the first blow by leaping back but the impact cratered the earth and sent up debris that completely obscured what happened next from my sight. It didn't stop me hearing though. Arashi roared loud, a sickening metallic CLANG echoed through the area, and from the cloud of dust and flying debris Zagan was sent trailing. Arashi had sent the hulking monstrosity trailing back with a Sword Skill of his own!

"Holy shit...!"

While I might not have used Asuka's exact wording I was pretty much thinking the exact same thing. I had to admit to being completely dumbfounded and it was only after I saw Jiro weaving in behind the Minotaur and jabbing it twice in quick succession in the backside that I righted myself and added my own sword to the damage. «Leaver» involved an uppercut slash swiftly followed by a downward stroke along the same trajectory as the first, with the added benefit of potentially inflicting a «Bleeding» DoT effect. Thankfully this happened right off the bat. Of course, usually I'd fall into post-action delay, but before that could trigger I jabbed forward with my left-hand to land the «Martial Arts» Sword Skill «Flash Blow». Asuka was beside me in seconds and instead of releasing a Sword Skill she nimbly slashed at the exposed flank with her claws and even though this did next to no damage, this kind of attack was exactly where her claws were at their most deadly. They had a 30% chance to inflict a «Bleeding» debuff regardless of the attack used, and she could dish out an incredible number in a very short period of time, and within only five seconds I saw her initiate the charging Sword Skill «Acute Vault» at close range. The entire strike took her roughly ten feet past Zagan and suddenly there were two «Bleeding» icons floating beside his head.

"Nicely done everyone. Shiro, you're up!"

Again Arashi's voice carried clearly over the battlefield, even over the various roars of a pissed off Zagan. The moment he finished speaking he chugged one of the longer-lasting healing potions he possessed.

"Raaaaagh!"

It seemed it was becoming customary for my Tanks to roar as loudly as the monsters we fought. It had the desired effect though and Zagan turned its hate-filled white-eyed stare right on Shiro. Zagan leapt at him and when it landed on the ground, even I felt it shake! «Smash» was a simple, if effective, one-hit two-handed axe Sword Skill. What I didn't expect though was how Shiro countered it. His shield glowed momentarily, indicating that he was using it to launch a Sword Skill, and this was exactly what he did. «Shield Bash» met «Smash» and yet another sickening CLANG echoed throughout! Shiro, unfortunately, didn't have Arashi's Strength stat, and he was knocked backwards by the force of the collision. His HP took a hit as well but nowhere near what it would have been had he taken the attack head-on. Still, he lost almost 40% of his entire HP bar. That clarified it for me. There was no way Asuka would have survived Zagan's charge had Arashi not intervened. Even I wouldn't have walked away from that.

This fight would be decided by Arashi.

And the man knew that himself and stepped up big time.

You already knew this, but Arashi's weapon was an absolute monstrosity of a two-handed sword which was roughly as long as he was tall. What you didn't know is how he got it: this was a drop Arashi had received alongside his current suit of armour during a one-time event quest on the 2nd Floor during one of his solo endeavours, around the same time Asuka and I had been resolving fetch quests in Urbus. Named «Xiphias» the sword was an absolutely massive chunk of blackened steel with a silver edge, enclosed handle, and no guard of any kind with a shining red eye-like decoration just above the handle. The armour matched it and was known as «Armour of Xiphias». This protective suit was lighter than the old «Iron Armour» that Arashi had given to Shiro and completely dominated his body from the tips of his toes to his neckline, incorporating his foot, leg, waist, upper-body and arm slots just to equip. The entire suit was black as a bottomless pit, featured highly decorative spikes on the knees, elbows and shoulders, and was embossed with a large glowing red eye in the centre. The entire ensemble gave the impression of a demon. And here I thought Arashi was scary to look at before.

"Shiro, stay on backup. To the rest of you: If that thing hits any of you cleanly it'll kill you. Watch your Switches and stay on your toes."

"... Right, watch yourself." Shiro leapt back.

Sword Art Online was, and I hated to admit this, a fundamentally fair game. Weaponry and armour was available if the players looked for it or got lucky. Of course, there was a degree of risk involved, though this was true of all SAO's activities considering that it was a death game.

Arashi advanced at the same time as Zagan, his «Howl» grabbing aggro from Shiro and his successful «Parry» solidifying it, and the two exchanged basic attacks. His HP sunk a little but I noticed that it began healing in quick order. In addition to having stats comparable to armour available on floors much higher than the one he obtained it on, the «Armour of Xiphias» had a minor HP regeneration quality. Every time this ability kicked in the red eye on the armours front glowed brightly. This effect stacked with the healing potion he had chugged earlier and the two combined to provide a potent self-healing stat.

"Kishi, you ready?" Asuka, with a steely determination, asked me.

"Definitely."

I ran up behind Arashi and quickly slid around him to strike at Zagan's flank. «Reaver» and «Acute Vault» caused Asuka and me to pass by each other almost cheek-to-cheek as Zagan roared in the background, and of course our DoT's were still ticking away in the background.

"Watch the spin!" Arashi called.

«Grand Destruct» was an area attack which, coupled with Zagan's size, made for a frightening area-of-effect.

Shiro, however, fulfilled his role as instructed. He interposed himself between the attack, matching the swing of Arashi, and jointly the two redirected the blow into the sky away from us. Just like last time Jiro jabbed Zagan from behind and this time I saw a Defence Down debuff seize the Boss.

"Hit it now! Shiro, take over, and watch your timing."

Arashi added his own considerable attack to our mix of Sword Skills and, for all our trouble, we had knocked two of his HP bars down.

"We've got this," I whispered. "Asuka, these things tend to go berserk after a while. Watch for any changes in his patterns and if you do, get yourself clear."

"Okay."

Zagan's patterns didn't appear to be anything remotely advanced. He targeted whatever individual was the highest on his hate table with powerful and seemingly random Sword Skills, whilst occasionally stamping on the ground with his powerful legs. This made the ground shake in the same manner it had when Zagan had first appeared. It was a simple matter to avoid or cancel his various attacks and our efforts were beginning to bear fruit. His final HP bar was sinking and overall he was just about to fall to 10% HP.

"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAGGGH!"

"Oh, shit- Asuka!"

As I had feared, Zagan had a berserk mechanic. His roar was followed by a rapid inhale and exhale, only instead of rancid breath he belched a lightning breathe attack! There was also a brief flash of the emblem on his forehead, though I pushed that from my mind. This breath attack didn't appear to target the primary target like his other attacks and was likely random, but that was barely going through my mind. His target was Asuka, who was statistically our frailest member, but thankfully I reached her first. She could admonish me for kicking her later but I lashed out with «Water Moon» and managed to send her skidding away from the lightning attack which, of course, hit me head-on. She squealed my name as eight-tenths of my HP was obliterated in one swoop, and I was stunned for my trouble, with comical stars floating above my head.

Zagan's hoofed feet brought him closer to me with every step and the axe-head was gleaming…!

"Jiro, get him clear!"

Arashi's foot impacted the ground mere inches from my head and his sword glowed a majestic yellow. Zagan had dropped onto all-fours and was preparing to gore me but Arashi swung out at his horns and miraculously managed to divert the raging Boss. One of his horns had snapped outright, causing critical damage, but this seemed to enrage the Minotaur even further! His movements became random, the breath attack was used with abandon, and there wasn't a member of our group other than Arashi whose HP wasn't in the yellow. I was, of course, still in the red.

"Oh, for the love of- STAND STILL!"

This was Jiro who roared with frustration, and he lashed out with «Twin Thrust». The paralysis effect took effect and Zagan found himself immobilized, but his resistance must have been sky-high because the status icon was already starting to blink.

"Now or never folks!" Arashi bellowed. "Hit him all at once!"

I held back though. Something had bugged me about Zagan since he first appeared and that had been his emblem. That was when it struck me.

"Shiro, I need a lift!"

Thankfully, Shiro was a smart guy. He grasped the particulars of what I meant, probably having seen the exact same thing I had, and braced his shield against his arm as he ran. Asuka, Jiro and Arashi all struck out with Sword Skills and his HP stubbornly refused to budge, and when the paralysis winked out he appeared to frigging smile! He inhaled as Shiro reached his hoofed feet, and he braced himself. If this didn't work Shiro and I were going to die. I ran at full pelt as, leapt onto Shiro's shield, and felt him heave.

Zagan was about to exhale…!

"Raaaaaagh!"

«Flash Blow» was the fastest attack in my current repertoire and when I sunk my fist into that shining emblem my hunch was proven true. Zagan reared back, stunned, and his breath attack was nowhere in evidence. Asuka, Jiro and Arashi were luckily recovering from their post-motions delays and every one of them sunk a Sword Skill into the Boss. Sadly that last sliver of HP refused to budge and this time I was frozen so when he inhaled again and a grin split its monstrous face, I could have spat in frustration.

"Son of a mother-"

My expletives were outright muffled by the shining light of an «Anneal Blade» that cut all before it!

Shiro had aimed his charge skywards and buried his blade deep in Zagan's chest, his body in the signature pose of someone who had just launched the basic charging «Rage Spike» Sword Skill, and Zagan exploded into thousands of polygonal shards.

A large «VICTORY» and «CONGRATULATIONS» flashed across our respective displays as loot and experience fell into our laps.

"Woooooooohoooooooooooo!"

Asuka tackled me bodily, hugging me tightly as we rolled amongst the grass, and the two of us could barely contain our laughter. Jiro was altogether more reserved in his celebrations and merely clapped his cousin Arashi on the shoulder. Shiro stood gulping in big mouthfuls of air. Arashi, meanwhile, sank to his knees. The concentration required to carry the field like he had must have really taken its toll on him.

For nearly ten minutes we sat around in a mixture of stunned relief and abject fear. What if Zagan could respawn? Jesus, that gave me goosebumps.

"A Boss," Arashi said, "and one every bit as strong as the Floor Boss was in the beta. Why was it just hanging around outside the labyrinth?"

"Lovely!" Shiro exclaimed. "But damn, is that what the front-runners are fighting on a daily basis? Hey, wait. Was that thing in the beta?"

"Not that I know of," Arashi answered.

"Hey, it wouldn't be the first time something's been changed from the beta." Jiro interjected. "Remember what Argo's guide said about Ilfang the Kobold Lord? His weapons were different."

I had a different theory.

"He probably was in the beta." I put forward. "Think back, Arashi: how many people were outside the labyrinth when we fought «Baran the General Taurus» in the beta? None. This is just my theory, but there wouldn't have been anyone to encounter him. I have a theory but I need more info before I'll commit to anything."

"So exactly what kind of Boss did we just encounter then?" Shiro asked.

"An Event Boss? Not sure, to be honest. But I'll know more when the front-runners clear the labyrinth and I can message Lind."

Asuka had been uncharacteristically quiet and when I turned towards her I found that she was cycling through menu windows at a frightening pace. She finally manifested a piece of worn parchment from her inventory and began reading it. I scanned it over her shoulder but didn't know what I was looking for in the first place. It appeared to be a bullet-point list of random notes and observations she had made, with dates and times. It stretched back before she met Arashi and I. Some points had been underlined whilst others had been crossed through.

"Here it is!" She suddenly exclaimed. "About a week ago we completed a hunting quest. How many of you remember what the NPC said?" Blank eyes met her. "Oh, for Pete's sake! She mentioned an exiled Taurus related to the Floor Boss! I even underlined it!"

I had to call her out.

"Then where was our warning?"

Her expression turned sweet all of a sudden.

"... I may have kind of forgot about it?"

We had a good laugh and, more importantly, managed to dispel the animosity of the morning and yesterday evening. There was nothing like a near-death experience to draw a group together. In hindsight what we had been arguing about seemed so trivial now. On the way back we cracked jokes and poked fun at Asuka for her forgetfulness. When no one was watching however she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. When I pointed out that Arashi had saved her too she narrowed her eyes and punched me on the shoulder but in the end thanked Arashi, though she ended up whacking him one when he tapped his cheek and stuck his tongue out at her. Upon our return to town I messaged both Lind and Argo to confirm my theory. It turned out there had been a new Boss stronger than Baran in the official release called «Asterius the Taurus King» and his appearance in the Boss chamber coincided with the appearance of Zagan outside the labyrinth.

An Event Boss whose appearance was tied to the appearance of the main Floor Boss? Convoluted barely covered Sword Art Online sometimes. In exchange for the info regarding Zagan I got my update on the front-line free of charge from Argo.

We didn't bother joining the tourists to check out the newly opened 3rd Floor and instead returned to the «Moo Moo Milk» in triumph.

"What exactly did you get?" I asked Shiro.

"Oh, yeah! You got the LA, didn't you?" Asuka interjected.

"Let's see…"

Shiro brought up his menu and highlighted the inventory option and set it to visible. He sorted its contents to show the newest items first and right at the top of the list was «Bull Hoplon». He looked at its stats and attributes and whistled appreciatively. It provided +4 to the wearer's Strength stat, which was exactly what Shiro needed, and additionally buffed the wearer's «Howl» Skill if applicable. All-in-all a very serviceable shield that any Tank would be happy to have dropped for them. What I found particularly noteworthy however was its potential longevity; it could be enhanced up to eighteen times! This would more than likely serve him for a great deal of time going forward. He equipped it then and there. It was a large concave shield designed to be supported on the shoulder. Rather than having a bronze layer in the centre this shield sported an embossed image of a large bull.

"Heh, and you told me you had no luck with item drops." I laughed. "I call bullshit."

The rest of us looked through our own loot at that point. There were no further equipment drops but given the quantity and quality of the items dropped I was fairly sure we'd be able to have Elise and Sheila craft us each something fairly powerful for the point we were in the game. Most were generic pieces; leather, mane, horns, that kind of thing. There was even an organ of some kind that likely powered its breath attack, and a chipped section that had once been attached to its axe.

I fired Sheila off a message:

«Boy, have we got a story to tell! Hope that forge of yours is hot 'cause we've got goodies.»

«Back in a bit!»

And, of course, it was signed with a smiley face.


	6. The Moneymaking Crusade

December 19th 2022, 12:51.

Asuka and I were just sitting down to our lunch in the «Moo Moo Milk» restaurant that still served as our base of operations, despite the 3rd Floor having been open since the 14th of December. We had taken a leaf out of Arashi's book and ditched our usual threads for casual attire made for us courtesy of Elise. She was dressed in a light pair of three-quarter length trousers and a long-sleeved white T-shirt with her usual purple ribbon in her hair. For myself, Elise had crafted up a pair of denim trousers and a sleeveless muscle vest.

We'd made it quite clear that we weren't to be disturbed.

"You want me to handle the waitress?" She asked me.

"Yeah, go right ahead."

I trusted her intuition.

You can imagine my surprise though when she ordered a portion of the spiced kebabs that she had earlier only picked around in the past. Maybe she was starting to develop a taste for them after all? This was accompanied by a dish vaguely reminiscent of lasagna, so maybe not. What she ordered for me was a dish closely resembling Caesar salad, a bowl of croutons to accompany it, and few bread rolls with a tasty meat filling.

"So, developing a taste for them now, eh?"

Her smile was radiant.

"I wouldn't go that far." She admitted. "I'm taking notes for Elise, if you must know. We can share the kebabs."

"Ah, the cookbook! How's that coming?"

"Quite well, actually. Her prawn cocktail? That's been selling hand over fist. Shiro's off gathering materials to let her make more right now."

At Asuka's direction, Elise had focused on the British version of the classical Marie Rose sauce, made using one part tomato ketchup and two parts mayonnaise. It was a simpler recipe and given the state of SAO's flavourings it was probably a good place to start. Elise was our chef and potion brewer long before she was our leather and cloth armour crafter, and she had joined forces with Asuka to expand her culinary endeavours. As you already know, Asuka was something of a gourmet. She had an extensive food palette and a generally well-rounded knowledge about food in general, and thus had volunteered to help young Elise develop sauces and spices that more closely imitated those found in the real-world. These had proven quite popular. The example provided by Asuka was Marie Rose sauce, which was commonly used in various fish dishes, specifically prawn cocktail. Elise and Asuka had spent almost the entirety of December 17th refining the taste and texture of the sauce, whilst Arashi and I spent almost the whole day vanquishing the watery species present near the massive lake down on the 1st Floor, so they didn't run out of fish to test it on. The fish wasn't prawn but it was quite similar in taste and texture.

It wasn't as if you could call trading standards or the fraud squad. This was Aincrad! I happened to think the two of them were being extremely crafty.

Besides, you couldn't spend your every waking hour resolving quests or farming mobs. Sometimes you just had to live.

"This place never disappoints." Asuka insisted. "We finished?"

"Yeah, sadly."

We unequipped our casual threads and equipped our battle-ready gear. You might be surprised. You see, our gear was different to the equipment we had when we fought against Zagan the Exile. Even before we had fought Zagan, Elise and Sheila had been busy power-levelling themselves and were now Level 12. Ever since the battle they had been busy converting all those lovely pieces of loot from our friend the Minotaur into custom pieces.

"I still can't get over how awesome these new pieces are." I admitted.

"They certainly outdone themselves."

Asuka wore a two-piece suit of darkly-coloured studded leather and tan leggings which comprised her upper-body and leg slots, with a long hooded cloak that took up her head and neck slot. The system identified both as the «Exiles Threads» and «Exiles Cloak» respectively. As Asuka's usual, her new clothes sported minimalist protective coverage with a focus on mobility and stealth. Additionally, they had special attributes that aided this function. The «Exiles Threads» gave her a flat +7 boost to Agility, heightened her chances of landing a critical hit. The «Exiles Cloak» gave her a flat +2 to Agility - nothing near as effective as the «Exiles Threads», true, but when equipped together they provided her with a buff to «Hiding». If what we had seen with her «Dire Wolf Claws» was any indication, then when maxed out she would essentially possess a functioning «Hiding» Skill without needing the Skill slotted. Overall, very nice in my opinion. The «Lightweight Galerus» and «Lightweight Manica» I had given to her back on the 1st Floor was still in evidence and was, aside from her belt buckle and a few metallic studs, comprised almost all of her metallic equipment.

Conversely, my gear wasn't as minimalistic as it used to be. The battle with Zagan had opened my eyes a little; I couldn't afford to skimp on gear, not any more. So when Elise asked me what kind of gear I wanted the vast majority of the work had been done by Sheila, who was our metal-worker. This new suit was called the «Cardiophylax» and was made from a mixture of Zagan's hide and crafted alloys. It comprised the neck, upper-body and waist slots of my equipment mannequin. The main piece, which incorporated the neck slot and upper-body, focused its protection on the central chest-area and throat. It primarily safeguarded the lungs and heart, with an accompanying shoulder-guard on the left shoulder that extended down to shield my bicep, designed specifically for the off-hand. This shoulder could be turned towards an opponent during battle to serve as a makeshift shield. I didn't use a shield so this was especially useful. The waist slot, meanwhile, featured several strips of studded leather that descended to cover my knees and hips, appearing similar to a skirt. Between the metal of the chest-piece and the skin was a layer of hardened leather for further protection. A good portion of my upper torso, including the outside area of my pectoral muscles and my entire right-shoulder, possessed lesser protection than the main cardiovascular areas. Stat-wise it provided me a flat +8 to Strength and +4 to Agility alongside a bonus to my «Hiding» Skill. That wasn't the extent of my upgrade though. In fact, the only piece I retained from my battle with Zagan were my gloves and my «Scimitar», and I was on the lookout for an improvement glove-wise as well. My leg slot now consisted of a pair of black cotton trousers, identified by the system as «Oxen Cloth Trousers», and had been made from a «Trembling Ox» on the 2nd Floor. Remember back when I obtained the «Martial Arts» Extra Skill? Yup, the hide had been languishing in my inventory since then. Although its defensive strength was low it provided me a dual boost to my leg strength, which manifested in-game as a small boost to jumping and swimming. Very nice! Additionally, I had a new pair of footwear that also incorporated shin guards. Named «Martial Arts Leg Guards» this piece of gear balanced me out with regard to protection and mobility and was focused entirely on powering up my «Martial Arts» Skill-tree. This manifested as increased damage from my Sword Skills and also increased my Skill proficiency gain.

Overall, I looked like a gladiator. Asuka, meanwhile, looked like a hooded assassin.

"So, now that we've eaten, what's the plan?" Asuka asked me.

"Head up to the 3rd Floor and meet up with Arashi. It's time we got our guild up and running."

Arashi and I figured it was best to let the front-runners advance a little before we started poking around the 3rd Floor areas, hence why we hadn't been busting our backs over the last few days. You see, we considered the 3rd Floor the most important Floor opened up so far and that boiled down to the fact that two very important things became possible on that Floor. The first was the «Elf War» - a series of quests referred to in-game as a «Campaign Quest» - which began in the «Forest of Wavering Mists» on the 3rd Floor and didn't resolve itself until the 9th Floor, so it would play a large role in our plans going forward. It had powerful quest rewards, valuable loot, and great potential for experience. Secondly, the 3rd Floor was where one initiated the guild quest, enabling the creation of a system-recognized «Guild». The perks of a guild included a shared item space which could be used to hold potions or loot for easier distribution, short instant messages outside a dungeon between members, and a slight boost to statistics whenever guild-members partied up together. Conversely, whenever a member of a guild earned money, they were taxed on it, with this tax going automatically into the guild's coffers. This wasn't even a detriment in the right setup.

As discussed, Asuka and I used the teleport plaza and in short order we were walking under the shade of three massive baobab trees. The town of Zumfut was built into these three trees, which formed a loose triangle, and were roughly 100 feet (ca. 30 m) in width and 230 feet (ca. 70 m) in height.

"You're late!" Arashi barked, eyes narrowing.

"No, you're just early." Asuka bit back, her eyes issuing a challenge.

She really did have Arashi sussed.

Arashi greeted us at the exit of the town. Accompanying him was Shiro, Jiro, the twins, and Ryne. Ryne was a newcomer who had been introduced to us by Elise and Sheila a couple of days ago. The twins had run into her during their solo power-levelling spree between the 8th and 15th of December whilst we were busying ourselves questing and farming, and Ryne had taken an interest in their respective crafts. At her direction the twins had gathered a decent clientele by offering gear repairs at prices below that of the NPC vendors. Ryne was a business-savvy woman, you see, whom I guessed was in her early twenties. Her hair was jaw-length and blonde, her figure was curvaceous with a generous bust, round hips, and a slim waist. Her lightweight cloth and leather armour emphasized this figure well and the way she walked gave me the impression of a glamour model. If she took me to the side and told me that she was one in the real world I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest. That aside, her ability to see trends and read the market was exceptional, and we had already taken advantage of her insights to inflate our purses.

"Afternoon!" Ryne greeted, before walking over to Asuka. "Hello, Asuka. Any juicy details to share?"

"Ryne! Behave yourself!"

"Aww, you're no fun! You aren't going to tell me anything? Nothing at all?"

"No!"

I was pleased another woman had joined our ranks if only so Asuka had someone to talk to other than us men. Now all I had to do was figure out how to get Ryne off the topic of Asuka and me dating. It wasn't that I was against the idea; quite the contrary, in fact. I would date her in a heartbeat. The thing was, Aincrad wasn't exactly conducive to a healthy relationship. Then again it wasn't conducive to looking after two 12-year old girls either.

I stepped forward and put my arm around Asuka.

"Now now, Ryne. Some things we just can't discuss. Especially with young ears around."

At times the twins made quite an effective scapegoat.

"Party pooper."

"Are we done?" Shiro asked. "If we're going to get through this schedule you and Arashi have drawn up for today, we'd better start now."

The schedule that Shiro referred to was our plan to start both the Elf War and guild quest today. We'd do the guild quest first with a party of 6 - the maximum allowed at one time by the system. Following the guild quest resolution we'd split into two parties to take on the Elf War, all the while benefiting from slightly elevated stats from being guild members. The campaign quest allowed one to take on the side of either the Dark Elves or the Forest Elves. Arashi and I talked it through yesterday and decided that it would be best to do both sides simultaneously, even if it meant splitting our manpower. I would lead Team A which would include myself, Asuka and Shiro. Arashi would lead Team B which comprised himself, Jiro and Ryne. Elise and Sheila would party with me up through the initial events of the quest to gain access to the Dark Elf controlled areas, at which point I'd escort them back to town to continue their crafting endeavours.

For now though all six of us were together. Until we returned with the guild insignia the twins would stay here in Zumfut, with their «Vendor Carpets» in-hand, selling their wares.

I took them to the side.

"Are you two going to be alright?" I was genuinely concerned. "We'll be in and out of instanced areas so you won't always be able to message me."

Elise nodded her head energetically but I knew better than that. I had watched the girls quite closely ever since they had come into my care, and I was getting to the point I knew when they weren't being entirely honest. I looked at Sheila.

"... We won't leave the safe-zone." Sheila answered. "Promise! Besides, the DKB are here in Zumfut. Shivata's really nice! We told Mr. Lind that we'd look after his guilds gear for a while, at a special price, if Shivata stays with us for a while."

I happened to know Shivata. In fact, I knew most of the front-line members either as casual acquaintances or actual friends. Well, as friendly as you can be with people you've never met in real life, whose only shared experience is being trapped in a death game. Boy does that sound weird. Kibaou and Lind were both on my friends list; though that was mostly for information sharing, rather than actual conversation. Argo too, though my relationship with her was a little stronger. We'd met in the beta for example so at least there was a little shared history. There were a few others I knew and thankfully Shivata was one of them.

"Yeah, he's a solid guy."

The twins skipped away and I noticed an «Iron Mail»-wearing man armed with a one-handed sword and shield follow behind the girls closely. I fired off a message of thanks to Shivata, who raised his hand and waved rather than reply, and shortly the three were out of my sight.

"Those girls are lucky to have you." Ryne said. "Do you know they tell people you're their brother?"

Arashi snorted; one of the most genuine expressions of laughter I had seen from the man since we got stuck in this death game, and I flashed him the middle finger.

"No, but that doesn't matter. They could introduce me as worst. Anyway! We've wasted enough time! Onward, people."

The guild quest took one to a public dungeon inhabited by large poisonous spiders. The Boss was a particularly large Queen Spider labelled in-game as «Nephila Regina». Of course, the difficult part wasn't the battle itself - our Levels and numbers would let us pretty much cake-walk the dungeon, and there was also the fact Arashi, Ryne and myself were beta testers. Sword Art Online, at least at this point, was pretty much old hand to us by now. Rather, the difficulty would actually be in finding her lair. The cave where she resided was a randomly generated public dungeon, and because it was public and not instanced, we wouldn't be getting any chests. Ryne had already been to this cave yesterday gathering materials for Elise to use in various potions, and the place had been picked clean before she got there. Probably by Kirito and Asuna, now that I was thinking. Regardless, we made good time. I didn't know if spider queens existed in real life or not but in short order «Nephila Regina» was reduced to little more than polygons. Asuka and I weren't the only ones whose equipment had seen a sizeable improvement.

"This is barely even a challenge any more." Arashi remarked.

"Isn't that the point?" I answered.

"I'm certainly not complaining." Shiro replied. "You just about done, Jiro?"

"Yeah, coming."

He was finishing off the last of the spider's who had rushed to save their queen.

Jiro had netted himself a powerful spear made using Zagan's horns twisted round like a rope which culminated in a viciously sharp tip. It strengthened his «Armour Pierce» Skill in the same manner my «Martial Arts Leg Guards» strengthened my «Martial Arts» Skill. While powerful in its own right - it probably outshone my «Scimitar» +8 (5S3D) at present - what made it truly frightening was its additional trait: Level 2 Paralysis poison. The organ generating the lightning breath attack that almost spelled my end had dropped for Arashi, which he had given to Jiro. The spear was dubbed «Crimson Tide» and it scared the hell out of me. Why, you ask? We couldn't protect against that at the moment! The potions required to cure it, the Skills capable of resisting it, or equipment rendering one immune to the poison? Yeah, we had nothing. The closest we came was equipment offering mild resistance and even that wasn't guaranteed. Now, what made paralysis so frightening? The minimum duration of any paralysis effect was 10 minutes. I'll let that sink in. 10 minutes. In an ordinary MMO that could be dealt with - you could rinse and repeat, try again. SAO did not have that luxury. In Sword Art Online paralysis was a death sentence, plain and simple. Spear aside, he had a new silver-coloured cuirass embossed with a bull on the front. This gave a flat boost of +2 to Strength and Vitality and a +4 boost to Agility. Not bad for a piece that only incorporated a single equipment slot.

Our return was a lot quicker. It was barely past 15:00 when we walked through the gates of Zumfut and approached the marketplace.

Shivata greeted me with a wave and left soon after I gave him my thanks for watching the girls. Speaking of the girls, they really were in their element. Elise had set up her «Vendor's Carpet» with three small tables and two display racks. The first of the tables held various pieces of confectionery and various pieces of Christmas-themed handkerchiefs, the second had various boots and gloves, whilst the third had various potions arrayed in neat rows. The display racks, which sat behind both her and the tables, held the actual armours she had created which ranged from various suits of leather to lightweight cloth. There was even three full kimonos on display! Sheila was likewise occupied. Her «Vendor's Carpet» sported a portable forge and anvil; this allowed her to either enhance and repair weapons, or enhance and repair gear. Three racks sat arranged in a somewhat haphazard fashion in a loose semi-circle away from the forge and anvil, and these had formerly held various suits of armour ranging from lightweight all the way up to heavy metal. There was also various swords, from one-handed straight edges to one-handed curved, alongside several shield designs.

I walked up and stood behind Sheila. She smiled over at me, waved in greeting, and then returned to her customers.

The one standing in line right now sported strikingly white-coloured hair, was little more than 12 or 13 if he were a day, and wielded the same classification of weapon I did: one-handed curved sword. In fact, he was actually carrying a «Scimitar» like me.

"I'll have four enhancements please, for the time being. I have the materials. All to sharpness."

I was about to step forward but Sheila spoke up. She sounded so confident that I stopped in my tracks to watch instead.

"... That's fine, but I would reconsider at least one of those enhancements. You see, the «Scimitar» may be powerful, but it has one major flaw: it is prone to damage along the edge, especially when placed under stress. I see you don't use a shield? You'll be using it to block. With that in mind, I suggest at least one to Durability."

"But-"

I only approached when she waved me over.

"This is Kishi. Like you he has a «Scimitar» and I've been mending his gear for a while now."

"What she just told you," I began, "is spot-on."

I drew my own «Scimitar» and held the black-sheathed blade out before me. It shined to show that it had been buffed to the max. The kid's turquoise eyes nearly popped right out of his skull.

"I've sunk three Durability enhancements into this blade. The other five were Sharpness. Like an «Anneal Blade» it'll do you until the early 4th Floor. At a push it'll carry through the 4th Floor but I wouldn't test it beyond that."

"... Thanks for the suggestion, but I don't have the materials for a Durability enhancement."

He actually sounded quite dejected.

"That's fine!" Sheila answered quickly. "I have the materials here. Maybe we could trade? You cover my materials with your own, and we'll call it even?"

"Sure!"

Overall, I was quite impressed. Not just with how Sheila handled things, mind you, but by the white-haired kid's attitude as well. The system employed for enhancements was generous to a certain degree; again I was coming back to the whole thing about Sword Art Online being fundamentally fair. Don't tell Kayaba, alright? I'd like that to be a surprise for when I kick him in the ass, throw him from a window, and listen to him squeal like a banshee before going SPLAT! Back on-topic though: The degree of success dropped significantly once an item reached +4. Since that was where the kid said he was stopping he was more-or-less guaranteed to be successful so long as he had the required materials, and would soon be sporting a «Scimitar» +4. It was as I said; he thanked Sheila profusely, bowed his head to me, and walked off towards Elise's stall. Once there, he spoke to her for a time about various pieces of equipment. The deal was struck and in mere seconds various cloth and leather pieces that had been hanging on the rack that looked vaguely like Edward Kenway's modified assassin's robes from Assassin's Creed disappeared from their hangers and materialized on the young man's body instead. I was there when Elise had made those particular pieces. Upper-body, gloves, legs, feet and waist; the «Outlaw Coat», the «Outlaw Metal Bracers», «Outlaw Breeches», «Outlaw Cavalier Boots» and the «Outlaw Leather Belt».

Rather than ask I looked over to the sign that sat between their two stalls: "Here until 17:00", in big bold letters, followed by "DKB members 50% off". So, that left just under an hour and a half to kill.

"Kishi," Shiro beckoned over to me, "Arashi and Ryne said they would stay with the girls. With that in-mind Jiro and I we're planning to get a little grinding in for an hour. We found this perfect place near an old gnarled oak tree. It was pretty much deserted."

There was a reason for that. Well, assuming it was unchanged from the beta, that was.

"Yeah, and if they haven't changed anything, its deserted for a good reason. Fallen elves can spawn there - one of the few places on the Floor they do if you haven't accepted the Elf War campaign."

"And what's wrong with Fallen elves?" Asuka asked, with none of her deviousness in evidence.

"Easy: weapons with Level 1 paralysis. I won't stop you from going, just be careful."

The big man grinned wide.

"Will do. Jiro, we're heading out!"

"Later, everyone." Jiro added.

I turned to the twins.

"We'll take it easy for a bit. Meet us in the «Lofty Perch» when you're both done here, and we'll get the guild formed after. Oh, and Elise! Save me one of those tasty jelly-looking tart-things. My belly is screaming FEED ME!"

And that's just what we did. The «Lofty Perch» was influenced by the Elven theme of this particular Floor. The food on offer was distinctly vegetable themed and I ended up settling on something vaguely resembling sliced eggplant.

"I miss meat already," I huffed.

"Here, you big baby."

She materialized a few long pieces of charred jerky from her inventory and handed them off to me. The NPC waiter serving our dishes gave us a sidelong look when I popped a few bits into my mouth.

"Hmmmm, gotta love the cow floor."

It wasn't anything flashy or involved. When the twins were finished and Shiro and Jiro had made it back safely, we collectively turned in the insignia obtained from the spider's cave, thus completing the guild quest. This insignia became a modifiable item, allowing the party to choose the insignia, name, and colours for their guild. We had a number of conversations about names and such, and the consensus was «Brightscale». Our colours were white and, according to Ryne, this signified a sense of safety. I wasn't particularly into my colour symbolism to know what white meant and I wasn't going to argue with her about it, either. White it was.

Ryne had also insisted that our abbreviation be «BS» - that got quite a laugh from Arashi and me, but Ryne was completely serious. Apparently, the term BS meant something else in Great Britain, other than being shorthand for the excrement that drops from a bull's backside. In Great Britain BS was the abbreviation used for the British Standard Institution. Since Ryne was confident of getting a tourist company up and running at some point I suppose that the BS indicated our seriousness in addressing standards for safety, the same way Elise and Sheila had standards in the gear they put up for sale. Given that SAO was a death game now safety for anything involving other players was a very serious matter. We ran with it. Our logo reinforced this - a kite mark, adorned with bright scales. The kite mark, supposedly, was used by the British Standard Institution to identify products where safety was paramount.

That said, we still had a few things to settle. And that was leadership.

Unexpectedly, there wasn't an argument. In fact, Arashi grasped me by the shoulder and smiled.

"I vote for Kishi. He is our 'people person', after all."

The twins, naturally, voted for me as well. They were followed quickly by Shiro and Asuka; Jiro and Ryne claimed there was no need to vote now, saying I had five of the seven votes. Arashi was a leader, true, but his skills translated solely to the battlefield. Which is exactly why I offered the following compromise:

"I'll lead the guild so long as Arashi is our Raid Leader."

"Raid leader?" Asuka asked.

"What he did against Zagan." Shiro provided. "I can agree with that. At least this way we'll find a use for his loud voice."

With us all in agreement we split the party into Teams A and B in preparation for the second phase of today's schedule. Arashi and I did our best to split the strengths equally, and I think we accomplished this quite well. Arashi was the Tank of his team, Jiro was the primary DPS, and Ryne wielded a «Chakram». This allowed for powerful ranged attacks - something very rare for Sword Art Online, which did not feature magical attacks like the classical Fireball. Shiro was the tank of my Team A, I served as primary DPS, and Asuka was our crowd controller. Although she lacked the ranged options Ryne possessed, Asuka was versatile. I hadn't learned this until recently, but she had both «Trap Dismantling» and «Picking» slotted. Given her stat distribution and focus she was more or less embodying the classical Thief archetype.

"... Look after yourself." Arashi whispered to me.

"... And you."

By the end of the day, at exactly 23:48, our respective parties had cleared up through the first four quests of the Elf War campaign.


	7. The Twin Sword Conundrum

December 22nd 2022, 03:15 in the early morning.

You would be forgiven for thinking I was the only person up and about at this ridiculous hour, but sadly that just wasn't the case. I happened to know that Asuka, Shiro and Jiro were up and about as well. The threesome were doing some quests only available in the early hours, and I had decided to leave them to it for a time. I had also seen a few members of both the DKB and ALS out despite the early hour. Maybe this signified a change of focus? I just hoped they weren't burning the candles at both ends. The accepted norm at the moment was quest during the day and rest at night. Very different from how things had been in the beta, but we weren't trapped in the game during the beta and had full access to the «Log Out».

Anyway, my decision not to go with Asuka, Shiro and Jiro had irked Asuka a little. Why was she annoyed, though? I may have kind of promised to do a dedicated levelling session with her. So, yeah. She had not been pleased. Not that I could blame her, really. I was starting to make a habit of this.

Her already frosty look dropped by about twenty degrees.

"So you aren't coming?" She asked me.

"Naw, I want to try something out." I answered. "I'll be back around 7:00 or 8:00. Then we can hit the levelling, as promised."

"What are you trying this time?" She asked.

The time before being when I exploited the system in her company to chain Sword Skills from my one-handed curved sword Skill into my «Martial Arts» Sword Skills. This, of course, had become a corner-stone of my damage-focused build. In fact, the only players I actually knew who had «Martial Arts» equipped at present was Kirito and Ryne. And I wouldn't be shocked if Kirito arrived at the same chaining exploit I had and was using it with impunity. If - and it would happen eventually - the rest of the player-base knew about the possibility they'd probably go gaga over it. I mean, who wouldn't look at the possibility of hitting an enemy with two potential Sword Skills in quick succession whilst suffering only a single «Post Motion» delay, and not slot the Skills required to perform it for themselves? It was the kind of exploit that would start off under wraps before quickly going viral.

See? Very Beater-like of me. Maybe the term was beginning to grow on me? But you really want to know the best bit? It hadn't been corrected by a patch and I had been maliciously abusing it.

"Knowing Kishi," Shiro interjected, "he's looking to exploit the system again and doesn't want us there encase he fails. Image and all that."

Jiro even laughed at me. It was scary how spot on he was with his assessment though.

"What'll it be this time? You've already got «Wall Running» down pat." Shiro continued, his grin revealing it was all in good fun. "You plan to go full Messiah on us and start «Water Walking» next?"

"... Now there's an idea." I answered, completely serious.

"Please, don't give him any ideas!" Asuka answered sharply. It was only then that her expression relaxed, and she lost the frosty edge to her delicate features. "Besides, if that head of his gets any bigger, it won't fit into a helmet any more."

"Did I wrong you two in a past life?" I bit back. "Besides, I don't wear helmets. Elise would kill me if I wrecked the style she so painstakingly maintains for me."

Just because you were stuck in a death game didn't mean you have to be serious all the time. Nothing wrong with a bit of friendly banter.

Shiro and Jiro turned in the direction of Zumfut's gate which led out into the greater «Forest of Wavering Mists» whilst I turned my attention towards the teleport plaza, my eyes set on the wide-open rock-dotted plains of the 2nd Floor. Asuka did not move and looked first towards Shiro and Jiro before she then glanced in my direction. Most of the player-base who filled their day with questing or farming were either here on the 3rd Floor or making their way up to the 4th Floor, which had been opened with the successful clearing of the 3rd Floor labyrinth and defeat of «Nerius the Evil Treant». Again, we hadn't been involved, either in the labyrinth clearing or the Boss battle itself, and somehow that didn't bother me at the moment. I had responsibilities, after all. Even Arashi was coming around to the reality of our situation, not that he would admit it, of course.

"Good luck, boss-man." Joked Shiro. "Come on, Jiro, we've got Fallen to kill."

"Right."

Asuka, however, didn't immediately turn around to walk away. Maybe Shiro had foreseen this? Her sparkling brown eyes kept looking to where my HP would be had I still been a member of the party, and I was fairly sure I knew what she was thinking. One of the times I went off on my own I had become so engrossed in my endeavour - increasing my proficiency in «Martial Arts» if you'll recall - that I ran out of HP potions and only returned to town when I unlocked the «Relax Equipment Conditions» mod that would allow me to use «Martial Arts» even whilst equipped with a weapon in my main-hand weapon slot. My HP at the time had fallen into the red and Asuka had force-fed me a potion upon my return to town whilst thoroughly admonishing me for my wanton disregard for my own life.

I realized after about thirty seconds that she wasn't going to let me go alone.

"You've got a bad track record for this kind of thing." She said finally.

"Can't argue with that. So, are you coming then?"

"Yup!"

"We'll catch you two later!" I called after my comrades.

Shiro only waved his hand at me without turning around. Jiro, however, was chuckling to himself. They made quite a sight walking off - Jiro dressed as a lancer who'd been deprived of his horse, and Shiro looking quite literally like a walking heap of bones. His armour was dubbed «Suit of the Exile» and while the system identified it as «Heavy Metal Armour» the entire suit comprised bone and leather and, like our own newly minted equipment, had come from materials dropped by «Zagan the Exile». It was form-fitting and in possession of the same «Lightweight» property that Arashi's «Armour of Xiphias» possessed. The helmet, which he wouldn't wear unless assured of battle, sported two forward-pointing horns and a T-shaped visor. Stat-wise it boosted Strength by 14, Vitality by 22, and provided resistance to Paralysis effects. In fact, it was currently the only item our guild had encountered that could theoretically stand against the potent Level 2 Paralysis possessed by Jiro's «Crimson Tide». Statistically it wasn't as imposing as Arashi's «Armour of Xiphias» but it wasn't far off. Our Tanks were actually extremely well-equipped.

If you hadn't guessed already, Jiro's «Crimson Tide» scared the hell out of me. Back during my time in the beta I was a player killer so well-known my fellow festers had nicknamed me «The Reaper». The truth was this: if I had that spear during my beta days I'd have terrorized the testers even more than I had. You see, I hadn't been a one-build man back then. If I found something effective then I swapped my Skills to accommodate it. In the wrong hands, say in the hands of someone willing to rob other players like Loki, then that Paralysis Level 2 effect could lead to something very bad. I couldn't stop picturing my friends laying on the floor with a lightning bolt status effect floating beside their name on my display.

That spear shouldn't exist. But there was nothing I could do about it. I could only take solace in the fact someone like Jiro had it and not someone less responsible.

I turned back to Asuka.

"Here, you might want to eat this."

"Oh, my favourite!"

She regarded my gift, smiled, and ate it quickly. In seconds the familiar DoT buff, indicated by a poor man suffering bleeding wounds with a little + sign beside him, blinked into existence at the same time her name appeared below mine to signify the two of us forming a party.

So much for my solo play. It looked likely that I'd be partying up with Asuka for the rest of my Sword Art Online career. Yet that didn't bother me. I barely knew her three weeks and already I couldn't imagine being stuck in this game without her. Why? Couldn't answer that. I didn't understand my own feelings myself! All I know is, when I look to my right and see her standing there beside me, I feel happy. Secure. My worry even took a back-seat when I was with her. In a sick kind of way, I was thankful to Kayaba. Yeah, yeah. I know. I've been thinking about throwing him from the nearest tall window with various embellishments depending on my mood at the time ever since I got trapped in this game, and now I'm thanking the guy? Trust me, I do see the irony. But you tell me: where else would I meet a woman like Asuka? I'm a gamer! I go for a run in the morning and spar with Arashi to keep myself in shape, and go to the occasional club at the weekend, but I've never met someone I can honestly say I can be myself around. When I tell the girls I'm a professional gamer they look at me like I've suddenly contracted a terminal disease!

Yet here Asuka was, despite knowing of my profession.

"Thanks," I said.

"I will accept payment in more confectionery."

"Ha! Deal."

Our journey was quick. As far as our Levels went, I was 15 and Asuka was 13. We were well above the safety margin on this Floor and, as a result, we pretty much breezed our way through most of the monsters on the 2nd Floor without breaking stride. Even the once-dangerous «Trembling Ox» was reduced to polygonal oblivion in quick order when faced with our stats and weapons. We didn't stop until we hit the very location where I had earlier chained my Sword Skills. The buzzing of various large insects signalled we had arrived and unlike the last time we were here Asuka showed none of the fear and hesitation she had before. Asuka was allergic to insect stings, such as wasps and bees, and was understandably hesitant to face insects in Sword Art Online. This probably had more to do with their size than anything else: the «Windwasp» alone was roughly 50 cm in length! This alone made it larger than any insect native to the real world, yet they were perhaps the smallest monster in Aincrad.

"So, now that we're here, what exactly are you attempting to do?"

My grin almost split my face in two.

"Dual wield."

"... I was about to say that's impossible, but I've seen you exploit the system before." She said, looking completely unsurprised. "So, how are you going to attempt it? I mean, you'll drop into an «Irregular Equipment» state, won't you?"

"... You've been polishing up on your gaming knowledge, I see."

"I had a good teacher. But seriously. What's your plan?"

"Equip another sword."

Luckily, I had just such a weapon — my backup one-handed curved sword for when my «Scimitar» neared the limits of its durability and I still had questing and farming to do. This was my «Pale Edge: the selfsame curved-sword wielded by Lind. He was the leader of the Dragon Knight's Brigade which itself was one of the two largest guilds in Sword Art Online at present. This sword was slightly wider than my preferred «Scimitar», roughly the same length and weight, and sported a bar-shaped guard and a notched hilt with a gently curving pommel. I had got it back during the 10th of December and had upgraded it to +4 Sharpness shortly before setting off with Asuka.

"First and foremost, I want to see what limbs that «Irregular Equipped» state applies to." I clarified.

"Why would limbs be important?"

I decided to show her rather than explain it. I grabbed aggro on the nearest «Windwasp» and casually blocked its stinger attack by crossing both my blades in an X-shape and slashing upwards. My Strength was sufficient for the task and the wasp found itself reeling backwards. Before it could flutter out of reach however I dropped into the «Pre-Motion» for «Crescent Moon». I stepped forward with my left leg and impacted the ground hard before the system cycled me through the animation, my right leg glowing with the indicative colour of an impending Sword Skill. My foot impacted the «Windwasp» in its slim middle section, the force of my kick separating its small body into two halves! Within seconds these twin halves burst into polygons.

Asuka was nodding her head.

"The status only applies to your arms." She concluded. "But aside from Sword Skills that focus on kicking alone, you won't do much damage."

She was right too. In Sword Art Online, there were roughly three broad categories of damage-dealing attacks. The first was the type most familiar to the players trapped in the game, and this was Sword Skills. This included my charging attack «Reaver» and Asuka's «Acute Vault». The second familiar type of damage was monster abilities. Creatures such as the «Windwasp» I had just defeated did not wield weapons of any kind and used their own bodies or special effects to do damage. If you think back to our good friend «Zagan the Exile» you'll recall how he used both Sword Skills and monster abilities. His «Lightning Breath» was an example of a unique monster Skill completely unusable by the player populace. The third type of damage was from basic attacks. These were usable by all players but did virtually no damage. As things stood I would only be able to inflict serious damage using my «Martial Arts» Skill-tree, and even then I would be restricted to Sword Skills relying solely on the use of my legs.

"I think it's all about timing."

I just wasn't sure how I could twist the timing to my favour.

"How so?" Asuka asked. "I mean, you can't launch Sword Skills period, unless they use your legs."

"Well, we already know there's a small window following a Sword Skill and the user dropping into their «Post-Motion» delay. Maybe I can exploit that window again?"

"I don't know. This all seems rather complicated for not very much gain."

Again, she wasn't wrong. But this had been a goal of mine since my time in the beta. Could dual-wielding actually be useful in Aincrad? It was already available for anyone to use: the problem was efficiency and usability. You had the benefit of two weapons boosting your stats but at the same time you couldn't put these stats to effective use because your damage was tanked into the floor because of your inability to launch powerful Sword Skills. I tested various tactics over the next hour with only marginal success. It was certainly possible to dual-wield — all it required was the equipping of two one-handed weapons, and that was what gave me the impression it was implemented on purpose. Why else would it be possible? If it couldn't be used wouldn't it make more sense for the off-hand to be relegated to shields? There was probably a Skill for it and if there was it would certainly be interesting.

I was about to throw my hands up and surrender when I noticed Asuka do something completely surprising.

Her «Dire Wolf Claws» vanished from her hand and in their place rested a «Throwing Pick». I knew for a fact she did not possess the «Throwing Blade» Skill, but she nevertheless struck the retreating «Windwasp» on its right wing, causing its flight to significantly slow. This allowed her to swiftly switch back to her claws and dispatch her target before it could fly beyond the reach of her weapon. Quite brilliant, I had to admit. The almost instantaneous switch would only be possible with the «Quick Change» modification, meaning she had taken that as an option when her proficiency in «Wild Dance» had allowed her to select an additional «Mod». Beyond that though it gave me an idea.

When I walked towards her I kissed her quickly on the cheek and expressed my thanks.

"What are you thanking me for!?"

You can imagine my delight that she didn't object to the kiss.

Probably the best way was just to show her. I approached a group of three «Windwasps» at a run! I didn't attack immediately though; instead, I pierced the earth with the blade of my «Scimitar» and released my grip on the hilt. Luckily this did exactly what I hoped it would: it dispelled the «Irregular Equipped» state I had been under, which of course freed me to use Sword Skills. I immediately lashed out with «Fell Crescent» - a one-handed area-of-effect curved Sword Skill which struck out in a circle whose range depended on the weapons length combined with the user's arm-length. It was one of the few Sword Skills were a lankier person could use it more effectively. My «Pale Edge» cut in a wide circular motion and in the brief window of time between the Sword Skill ending and the «Post Motion» kicking in I immediately dropped the blade and, with my dominant hand, grasped the hilt of the «Scimitar» earlier sheathed within the earth. Since I dropped my «Pale Edge» I was no longer considered to be dual-wielding and I immediately launched the basic two-hit combination attack «Leaver» on the sole remaining «Windwasp»!

All this in the brief window between the first Sword Skill ending and the «Post Motion» beginning. Damn, I was on fire!

"... No way…!" Asuka exclaimed.

"YEEEEHAAAAA!"

I leapt into the air and pumped my fist in celebration!

"How did you even come up with that?" She asked me.

"You gave me the idea." I admitted. "You've got the «Quick Change» mod, haven't you?"

She looked momentarily surprised but quickly grasped at the fundamentals of what I was saying.

"Still, that's amazing. Are you going to practice it?"

"Yeah, for a little while at least."

The conclusion I came to when we finally returned to Urbus was that dual-wielding was certainly possible. The style had its pros and cons, with more of the latter than the former, with one glaring con being its impracticality. Still, it was usable, and anything I could add to my arsenal that gave me an option — even if that option only applied to once in a million situation — was something I'd grasp with both hands. Sword Art Online was a death game. Survival didn't always boil down to skill and luck; at times it came from plain old ingenuity and how well you could adapt the few Skills you did possess to the situation at hand. If that meant abusing the mother-loving hell out of the system that governed everything in this game, then so be it. I'd abuse it willingly.

Again, very Beater-like of me. And I didn't give a damn what anyone thought of it.

It had just turned 08:20.

"You want to grab a bite to eat before heading up to the 4th Floor?" Asuka asked me.

"You bet. I could eat an entire cow."

"We're certainly on the right floor."

Once again we settled on the «Moo Moo Milk» establishment as our restaurant of choice. I drank Aincrad's version of coffee, which had a sweeter taste than I was generally used to in the real world, whilst Asuka settled on a cup of unsweetened hot chocolate. Our drinks were accompanied by small pastries and cold cuts of ham and cheese. This was dry-cut and, according to Asuka, was likely equivalent to prosciutto, which was tasty with a slight salty kick. The savoury bread went well with the ham and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We decided against the «Moo Moo Cheesecake» at this time and instead ordered the takeaway variety, which was then spirited away into our inventories.

"What's the 4th Floor like?"

"In the beta, it was a dusty wasteland. I didn't hang around it much."

So you can imagine my surprise when we stepped out onto the teleport plaza of Rovia. The dusty and plain design of the beta was nowhere in evidence; instead of dull grey stone buildings whose entrances were located on the second floor and accessed by way of a staircase, the town was filled with waterways and gondolas! The white-hued stone walls of the buildings and the flowing water of the canals gave the impression of a chalk city floating on a square lake.

Not what I was expecting.

"It's just like Venice!" Asuka squeaked.

"The Italian city with all the boats?" I asked.

Of course, one place my feet had never set foot in was Venice. My whole experience with the city was from my time playing the Assassin Creed series of video games, where the player navigates the game world from the perspective of Ezio Auditore da Firenze.

"Yup. So, what does this mean? Your beta knowledge likely won't apply to this Floor."

She might have a point.

"... I guess we'll see!"

There would come a time when being a beta tester would mean absolutely nothing anyway. This would occur when we hit the 10th Floor, which was the extent of the beta testers advancement at the time the beta period concluded. My own knowledge extended only to the 9th Floor, which is where the «Elf War» concluded. I had completed the aforementioned campaign quest on the side of the Dark Elves whilst Arashi had completed it on the side of the Forest Elves. Would the stigma unfairly attached to the beta testers stop at that point? Or would the animosity linger like a cancer?

Another thing only time would tell.

"Hey, Earth to Kishi!"

"Sorry! What's up?"

"Where are we off to?"

"Bear forest. If it exists, that is."

It did, but just like the main town of Rovia the forest was different in the official release as well. Before it had been a dry and desolate forest completely opposite to the forests of the 3rd Floor, which had brimmed with life. Now this forest was brimming with life! I couldn't see the sky for the canopy of branches above my head, the floor was slick with moss, and little sprigs were growing all over the place. The monsters, as expected of a location called «Bear Forest», mostly consisted of large bears. As was usual in Sword Art Online these bears were larger than their real-life counterparts and highly belligerent; they attacked on-sight with powerful claw attacks, had a tendency to throw their considerable bulk behind a charge, and were capable of taking considerable punishment. I was able to cancel their attacks out with a Sword Skill of my own, thus establishing me as the highest hate target, and Asuka cut in smoothly to slash at them with their claws. We continued battling up through the afternoon and stopped only when we had put a noticeable dent in our experience bars.

"I see you didn't try to dual wield again." She noted.

"Not until I've had a helluva lot more practice." I admitted. "Too risky. Without having the timing down pat, I'd only be a liability. And here every mistake could be your last."

She smiled at that.

"I'm glad to see you're finally learning."

"I had a good teacher."

We were about to walk away when I stopped dead in my tracks. I hadn't been sure of my feelings before today, but they were starting to become clear to me. I liked Asuka - it was just as Arashi had said, back on the 2nd Floor.

"Asuka," she turned her head towards me. "How about we take tomorrow off? Do something normal?"

"Like what?"

"Like a date. No swords, no monsters, no guild. Just you and me doing something normal."

When she didn't immediately answer me I had to admit that my heart was in my mouth. I was about to run off and stick my head in the sand when, at last, she smiled.

"... I do like boat trips."

Never mind doing nothing tomorrow. We did absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. Even when Arashi, joined by Ryne and the twins, asked us if we wanted to join them for a while, we both declined. By the evening, we were sitting in the double room we had rented in an inn called «The Unsinkable Lady», with a hearty fire blazing away in the background. The two of us were dressed in black-coloured kimonos with white undergarments and black bottoms, which had been created en masse by Elise to serve as a casual uniform of sorts. On our arms were simple armbands emblazoned with the kitemark symbol that served as our guilds sigil.

The romantic air was shattered when someone knocked on the door and, despite myself, I groaned aloud. Asuka merely chuckled. Upon opening the door however, I discovered a metallic tray with an assortment of what I guessed where potato chips, various types of nuts, and a bottle of wine. It wouldn't get us drunk but it would certainly add to the atmosphere.

A note, however, caught my eye:

«Don't say I never do anything for you.»

There was no name attached but I knew immediately who had left it there: my childhood friend and wingman, Arashi.

God bless that man.

"We've got room service." I announced.

"I didn't know NPC's did that."

"They don't. Arashi does though."

We never left the room for the rest of the night.


	8. Roving Rovia

It was December 24th, otherwise known as Christmas Eve, yet I wasn't really feeling the festivities this year. Why, you ask? Well, how many people in a world of trillions could say that they were trapped in a virtual game that fried your brain with microwaves if your avatar died in-game? I knew the answer of course, considering I was one of those 10,000 unfortunate souls. Okay, I admit that I was feeling a little low today, so you would have to forgive me.

I guess what was really eating me was simple: I missed my family.

"You're being very quiet." Asuka noted. "It's not like you."

Her eyes were alight with concern and her brow was furrowed as her incisive gaze regarded me. The smile I gave her slipped from my face quickly, to be followed by a heavy sigh, and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm just not feeling-"

We didn't have time to talk at length regarding my mood however because we soon found ourselves under attack by brigands! They were the typical early offerings common to the RPG genre: large burly axe-wielders and small lithe dagger-users, with an occasional brigand with higher stats and better equipment thrown into the mix. Our current party consisted of Shiro, Asuka and myself. The twins were still partied up with us, but they weren't here; they had stayed behind in the Dark Elf camp, where they were apparently resolving fetch-quests that only appeared for players with crafting Skills slotted. As such, Shiro was our primary Tank; it was the sound of an axe slamming against the embossed bull of his shield that had alerted me to the attack.

My eyes shone green, indicating I had just activated my «Searching» Skill. I saw two targets clearly outlined in red despite the darkness of the dungeon.

"There's another behind him!" I called to Shiro.

I cut in smoothly and buried the blade of my «Scimitar» into the axe-wielders gut. This knocked off a sizeable chunk of his HP gauge and, when the piercing damage that resulted from a weapon remaining embedded in his body was taken into account, his overall HP fell below the halfway point before I pulled it free. With my attack resolved Shiro readied his own attack. His shield glowed brightly as he backhanded the axe-wielder with his shield! «Shield Bash» didn't outright deplete his HP but what it did do was launch the axe-wielder into his comrade courtesy of its «Knockback» trait. The two bandits tumbled to the floor, suffering the «Tumble» status for their trouble, and Asuka used the opportunity to swiftly land several standard blows with her claws, which had the effect of causing the «Bleeding» debuff. The two bandits were subsequently dispatched by me using my area-of-effect «Fell Crescent» Sword Skill.

"Sorry… I'm just not focusing today." I admitted.

"We all have days like that." Shiro answered. "Didn't you say earlier that there's a safe zone in this dungeon?"

"Yeah, there's a branching path around the next corner. Left will take us deeper; right will take us to the safe zone."

"Right it is then!"

The dungeon in question was located on the 3rd Floor. It was a forest cave - in fact, most dungeons on the 3rd Floor were caves hidden away deep within the sea of trees that was the «Forest of Wavering Mists». It was just a matter of whether the dungeons themselves were public or instanced. This was one of the instanced dungeons, albeit on the smaller size. The walls were lined in solid rock, the passageways were thin and cramped, and there was very little light. Moss grew on the stone walls and various mushrooms grew at regular intervals. These Asuka picked and pocketed; for Elise, she said. Our guild storage was becoming a dumping ground of ores, various monster hides and parts, and material items like those mushrooms. The twins were going to have a field day.

Aside from a few small torches set up at seemingly random intervals the entire place was devoid of light. The night vision trait of my «Searching» Skill had been our guiding light so to speak, but I'd been more than a little distracted today.

For the last two days we had been running through the various quests attached to the «Elf War» campaign quest, and we were at present midway through the tenth and final segment of the campaign on the 3rd Floor. This consisted of us retrieving the stolen «Jade Key» from a group of brigands. We hadn't encountered the true thieves yet - the thieves we had encountered thus far were human brigands who happened to be here based on the opportunity of the moment, rather than any loyalty to the real threat in these caves. You see, the real culprits happened to be the Fallen Elves, but I hadn't spoiled this for my companions. Best to let them experience as much of the quest lore as possible themselves. Who said you couldn't enjoy the story just because Sword Art Online was suddenly a death game?

The safe-zone was exactly what it implied: a safe area in a dungeon where no monster could enter, where the anti-criminal code that was usually in effect in towns and villages reigned supreme. Nothing short of a dual PK could harm us here. It was illuminated by a large crystal formation set against the far wall that shed a welcome light.

My eyes lost their characteristic green glow and I slumped to the floor with my legs crossed beneath me.

"What's bugging you?" Asuka asked, her warm eyes retaining their earlier concern, albeit intensified. "You've been staring into space all day. It's only when we fight something that you come back to us."

"We won't go blabbing, you know. Promise."

At that moment Shiro sounded to my ears very much like a parent trying to coax their child into telling them what was wrong with them. I couldn't help but smile.

There was no harm in telling them. In fact, it might even make me feel better.

"... This'll be the first Christmas I've been away from my nieces, that's all."

"I can sympathize." Shiro answered, the emotion obvious in the big man's voice. His lip actually trembled. "As you guys already know, I have two girls myself. I haven't missed a birthday or Christmas since they were born. Before Kayaba, that is."

"I've got two cats!" Asuka interjected.

There was no explanation for why we found that funny but all three of us were laughing.

I hadn't spoken much about my personal life outside Sword Art Online. There was an air of taboo regarding the whole subject; the player-base kept certain things to themselves, such as their real names, professions, and their family situation. When the subject was broached people's mouths tended to shut up as tightly as a clam with lockjaw! Some players even got angry when the subject was raised. Truth be told I didn't see the harm in it. All my teammates knew I was a professional gamer, for example, but I suppose only Arashi - and possibly Sojiro - knew about my extended family. I had a sister called Kireina who had two young girls: Kiri and Kay, who happened to be twins. She had gone through something of a rough patch because her partner, whose nose and legs I personally broke, had fudged up their finances and put everything in my sister's name. Gambling debts, mostly. Bad investments secondly. Of course, when things went tits up she was saddled with the debt. Kireina had to sell her home to wipe out his debts and had only avoided the street because my flat had two spare rooms. She had got her life back together rather quickly with a small flat of her own not far from me, thankfully, but I'd grown very close to my nieces during that uncertain time.

Kireina had spent Christmas at my house, or me at hers, ever since.

But we'd languished here on my account long enough. Shiro went off towards the mouth of the safe-zone and I returned to my feet, though Asuka did not move from my side. She took my hand in hers and squeezed before resting her head on my chest.

"Look, you've been a sounding board for me before, right? I'll admit that this whole thing with Sword Art Online jarred me quite a bit: you helped me deal with it, Kishi. So if you ever need to talk, just say the word."

And there was the silver lining of my entrapment: Asuka.

She then nudged me in the ribs.

"I didn't know you were an uncle."

The smile I gave her was genuine; probably my first genuine smile all day, because I recognized the teasing tone in that statement.

"I suppose that explains why you're so good with Elise and Sheila, and why there's a little grey through the black. Don't worry! I think it makes you look distinguished. What age are they?"

"... Nine years old. The twins remind me of Kiri and Kay. When I saw Loki hurt them, something in me just snapped." I had to wipe the tears from my eyes. "God, I miss them. More than I ever thought I would."

"We'll get you back there." Shiro interjected.

"Count on it!" Asuka added, her hand on my arm supportively.

"You two ready to put those Skills of yours to the test though?" Shiro asked. "The path leading deeper is pretty dark; in fact, I'm fairly sure the only hole I know of that would be darker is the black one in Calcutta."

"Lovely. Let me activate my-" I stopped mid-sentence. Yeah, it took me that long to realize what Asuka had said to me. "The hell you mean distinguished!? I'm only 26!"

We quickly returned to the task at hand with me guiding Shiro, who was on-point, with my «Searching» Skill. My vision was rendered in various shades and hues of green but this was an acceptable trade-off considering it provided me with functioning night-vision. Good thing it did too: Shiro hadn't been joking when he said that the path leading deeper was dark. There wasn't a single torch to be seen nor a crystal offering handy illumination, at least until I sparked the ignition of a torch of my own. Thankfully, my torch wasn't considered a weapon, even if it did take up my off-hand weapon slot. That said, I manoeuvred to the «Quick Change» modification settings and configured it so that I could instantly switch to my spare «Pale Edge» in the event I was disarmed. Good to be thorough.

"Look, I know I said I wouldn't spoil things, so I'll keep things brief." I said. "The enemies ahead employ Paralysis effects of Level 1. Be careful you don't get nicked."

"Roger," Shiro answered.

"Oh, yay. More paralysis." Asuka huffed.

Our encounters were becoming more frequent as we descended deeper. Our opponents finally revealed themselves for what they were: Fallen Elves, with Paralysis inflicting weaponry. Not that this bothered us much. Asuka blended into the shadows with the «Hiding» buff granted by her «Exiles Threads» and «Exiles Cloak» and this allowed her to launch debilitating surprise attacks. It didn't matter if it was two, three, or even four opponents; Asuka «Sprinted» amongst them, attacking all-the-while with basic attacks from her claws, before retreating just as quickly. The moment she was clear Shiro attracted their attention with «Howl» and interposed himself between us and our opposition. I singled out one of the Fallen, who happened to be a curved-sword user like myself, and exchanged a few attacks with him. In the midst of our battle he leapt back and then quickly barrelled forward with «Reaver». I caught the horizontal stroke on the flat edge of my «Scimitar» and managed to divert his blade into the floor before jabbing at him with the torch in my off-hand. Mid-attack however I deftly dropped the torch and flicked the icon for «Quick Change» using only the index finger of my right-hand. Instantly my «Pale Edge» materialized in my off-hand and seconds later the Fallen Elf found himself with a blade lodged firmly in his shoulder! I could have relinquished my grip on the second sword to allow for a Sword Skill from my «Scimitar» but his HP was low enough that a «Martial Arts» Sword Skill would do the trick.

He burst into polygons and I took the opportunity to survey the flow of battle.

Shiro and Asuka were finishing up the other three. I weighed in on the battle the moment my delay was resolved and in quick order we were alone in the darkness once more. With that accomplished I took the opportunity to stow my «Pale Edge» once more in my inventory.

"So, the Fallen." Shiro observed. "Not like I didn't see that one coming."

His tone was dripping with sarcasm.

"Have we much farther to go?" Asuka asked.

"Nope! Since we're at the end and you've seen the Fallen for yourselves, there's no harm in telling you. The Fallen have contracted various human rogues and mercenaries to steal the «Jade Key». One of their commanders is down here. Very nice loot."

Asuka's eyes practically sparkled.

"You're obsessed with treasure, aren't you?" Shiro asked her.

"I am not!"

"Says Mrs. «Thieves Tools»." I pointed out.

This, of course, got me a thump in the ribs.

Asuka and Shiro were Level 14. I was Level 15. Airi's Skills included «Trap Dismantling» and «Picking». These two Skills together produced a «Composite Effect» that Asuka had dubbed «Thieves Tools». Sword Art Online was a game supposedly with hundreds of Skills; some were hidden, some had conditions set on their availability. Others still weren't documented by the system and could only be discovered by players who had slotted several complementary Skills. This was the «Composite Effect». Airi's «Thieves Tools» gave greater trap detection and lock picking abilities superior to, and buffed by, the two Skills comprising it. It made chest scrounging all the more profitable.

"Hey, we're here."

We hadn't tripped the commander's aggro yet, so we stopped and crouched down in the darkness. His room at the bottom of the dungeon was well illuminated by several torches. There was a makeshift desk towards the back of the room and a small seating area to our left. Weapon racks lined the far wall and I spied at least three rows of three-tier bunk beds to our right. Judging by what we saw there were only two guards in addition to the commander himself, but given the amount of bunk beds here there could very easily be upwards of another seven roaming the dungeon whom we had luckily missed.

I didn't trust that the two we seen though were all that was lurking about and my glowing green eyes were once again called upon.

"There's two under the «Hiding» status. There are two small cuts in the rock on the left and right sides, off from the central table towards the back. Near the weapon racks."

Shiro followed my pointing finger and nodded. He couldn't see them himself as he lacked the «Searching» Skill, so instead I tagged them on my displays mini-map and set it to party-wide view. Asuka and he nodded to confirm that the red dots appeared.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"Yeah, two things. Firstly, how many bunks do you count?"

Asuka scanned the area quickly and provided the answer: 9.

"I count three visible elves and two hidden, so we're four elves short."

"Reinforcements?" Shiro asked.

"We can't discount it."

"What was the second thing?" Asuka asked.

"This is different from the beta. See the sword at the commander's waist?"

It was Asuka who noticed it first.

"The oily residue, right?" She asked.

"Yup. He wielded a basic one-handed sword back in the beta. That weapon he has now is a curved-sword; I know because I owned one."

The weapon in question was wickedly sharp and was of the same curved category of weapons that I preferred to wield. The hilt was notched to prevent slipping, the guard was a delicate circle, and the blade was thin. Saying it hadn't been in the beta wasn't strictly accurate however; the weapon existed - I had wielded one for a time - it just didn't belong to the «Fallen Elf Commander» belonging to the 3rd Floor «Elf War» quests. If I remembered my time in the beta correctly then that sword was called «Shmargor's Crescent». It sported the same Paralysis Level 2 that Jiro's «Crimson Tide» had and additionally increased one's Agility by 4 and one's Strength by 2.

Overall, it was a very nice sword. I couldn't begin to tell you how many PK's I had committed with it in the beta.

But we had strategizing to do now that all the facts had been presented.

"I'll grab the attention of the three who are visible. I'll keep their attention on me while you two deal with the two hidden. Sound like a plan?"

It was a sound strategy especially when you considered that Shiro was the only one amongst our guild who could potentially resist the effect of the commander's sword. He also had a few slowing attacks and movement restriction effects to slow a group down.

"Agreed." I answered.

"On three?" Asuka provided.

We took a collective inhale of air.

On three Shiro walked from concealment. His loud «Howl» echoed off the walls and pulled everything's hate! Five red cursors approached him, though Shiro would see only three, and Asuka and I took the opportunity to blend into the shadows; my «Hiding» Skill and her «Hiding» buff essentially serving the exact same function. The commander vaulted over the table, drew his sword with a wicked hiss, and fell on Shiro with a fury more akin to a rabid beast than a humanoid warrior! He was shouting something about foolish human warriors, but Shiro's legs held firm under the assault and his shield remained steady. Shiro managed to keep three of the five in front of him without letting them slip around to his back or sides, which I had to admit was impressive. Before he could be overwhelmed by the two hidden elves Asuka and I sprang our own surprise attack! My usual habit of chaining Sword Skills killed my target outright. Asuka pulled hate on her target and allowed the DoT ticks to do the majority of her damage and instead dragged him over to me. My delay resolved in a timely fashion and I caught the attack aimed at her using «Shunt» and followed up with «Water Moon» before my delay could kick in. Stunned and reeling from my combination the elf went down quickly to Asuka's five-hit «Flurry of Blows»!

"Nicely done, Asuka."

"Thanks! What about Shiro?"

Shiro was doing just fine. His HP was sitting around 90%. Considering he was facing a dungeon boss and two of his guards, I think he was golden. Rather than remain on the defensive however he struck out with «Serration Wave». This was an area attack capable of hitting numerous targets and, given the circumstances, it was probably the best option available to him. Whilst a Sword Skill this particular one was similar to a standard attack - it did next to no damage, but it did impede an opponent's movement. Given that Shiro was trying to keep three opponents in front of him so that they couldn't outflank him, it was a brilliant tactical move. By the time their movement returned to normal Asuka and I were crashing into the guard's rear line! I held back on launching any Sword Skills however and waited on Asuka drawing the second guard closer to me. Once she did, I told her to get clear as I fired off my «Fell Crescent».

I killed one guard outright and knocked a significant portion off the other's HP gauge.

"Leave that one to Shiro!" I called.

Asuka had been about to finish off the guard but instead raked her claws against the commander's back as an alternative. It took two further swipes to inflict the usual «Bleeding» status inherent to her weapons but once she accomplished her common tactic she fell back to a safer distance. As this occurred Shiro backhanded the commander with «Shield Bash»! The commander tumbled into his guard and knocked the latter prone. It was only at that point Asuka let rip with a timely «Acute Vault». Although it was usually a one-target attack, if the targets were tightly grouped, then the subsequent attack could quite easily hit more. This is what happened, thankfully, and the guard dispersed into polygons.

"You hear that!?" Shiro called to me.

It was hard not to hear: shouting voices and pounding feet. The cave did a good job of enhancing such sounds so it was clearly audible even over the sound of battle. Thankfully, we weren't taken by surprise. We had expected as much.

"Yeah! Asuka, we've got reinforcements!"

I was about to call a change of plans but Shiro flicked his head in the direction of the passageway.

"I've got the commander! You and Asuka keep those reinforcements occupied!"

"... On it! Asuka, stay behind me!"

"Right!"

Shiro really impressed me though. Given my experiences in this game I was convinced that there should be a picture of the guy beside the term "dependable" in the dictionary. He was a very different kind of Tank than Arashi, who I have to admit I was used to working with and may be somewhat biased against. We still hadn't our teamwork down completely, otherwise we wouldn't be shouting so many suggestions to one another in the heat of battle, but we were getting better. Shiro was an absolute rock. Neither myself nor Asuka had suffered so much as a single point of damage since we entered this dungeon and whilst he had suffered some himself, Shiro was using delaying actions and slowing effects even as he fought to ensure that the healing-over-time effect of the healing potions currently available to us could serve a benefit in the midst of battle. I had to marvel at the guy's skill. Damn, did we luck out.

He was the difference. I'd have to make a point of telling him as much when we returned to our base on the 4th Floor.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The passageway was narrow enough to allow only two people to stand shoulder-to-shoulder. As such, there were two fallen elves approaching me and two hanging further back. Instead of meeting them head-on with Sword Skills, however, I deliberately materialized my «Pale Edge» and began to dual-wield. I wasn't going to do much damage - my goal was to keep the pair in front occupied whilst Asuka whittled their HP down. Thankfully, I was ahead of the Level curve for this particular Floor, and my Strength stat was sufficient to the task of parrying their strikes without the need for Sword Skills. Due to this I was able to keep them focused on me whilst Asuka did her thing. It was only after both had been inflicted with a «Bleeding» debuff that I struck out with a «Martial Arts» Sword Skill.

By the time Asuka and I were finishing up our guards, Shiro was finishing up with the boss.

We talked about the loot that was randomly split between us on our trip back to the Dark Elf camp.

"I got his sword and a pair of boots that muffle the sound of your footsteps." I revealed.

Shiro didn't speak so much as model. Or, well, attempt to model, I suppose.

He materialized a long sandy-coloured cloak that extended to knee-length whilst removing his horned helmet in favour of a white bandanna. I knew what this item was because I had seen it in the beta: «Swordsman Long Cape». It was a mostly cosmetic item but it did have one special attribute. It boosted the Skill proficiency gain of the one-handed sword Skill. He did a little twirl to show off his new acquisition.

"You are no Ryne," Asuka remarked.

"Yeah, I don't have the ass for modelling."

"So glad we didn't burst your career aspirations."

"What about you Asuka? What did you get?"

"I've been reading the description and If I'm right, then I'll probably never take it off. Here, look."

She turned her menu to visible and stood between Shiro and me, so we could easily read the information. I saw what confused her immediately. The item in question was one I wasn't familiar with. Identified as a «Sheath Knife Belt» this particular belt allowed one to equip and throw upwards of three «Throwing Picks» without the wearer being burdened by an «Irregular Equipped» state. The sheaths could easily be restocked.

"Basically, if you had the «Throwing Blade» Skill, you could use those Sword Skills without being classified as dual-wielding. It's very nice."

"Agreed." Shiro continued. "Even without the Skill you could simply throw the picks into a large target and let the piercing damage tick away. It actually compliments your build well."

"Sweet!"

We picked up the twins in the Dark Elf camp but opted instead to return to town rather than resolve the quest immediately. It was Christmas Eve! It was time to party.

"I'm going straight to a bath." Asuka said with a hearty sigh.

"You'll find me at the pub. Even if the drink can't get us drunk, I need to unwind."

"Think I'll join you." I answered.

"Oh, that reminds me! There's a party being held in Rovia. The invite was open to everyone."

"Guess it's time to rove all over Rovia, eh?"

No one - not even the twins - laughed at my absolutely killer joke.


	9. Braving the Depths

Darkness.

That's what we had been experiencing since sometime before 12:00 on December 30th. It was also why I was singing of all things.

Hello darkness, my old friend

I've come to talk with you again

Because a vision softly creeping

Left its seeds while I was sleeping

And the vision that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sound of silence.

Okay, I'll admit that dungeons aren't usually the best place for one to burst out into song. Especially when the person singing said song is named Kenji Hiroshi and sounds like a sailor whose deep in his cups. But there was something about this particular dungeon that stirred my poet's soul.

We were walking through almost eclipsing darkness! If my virtual body felt pain in the same manner my body did in the real world, then I'm fairly sure my toes would be screaming at me from how often I had studded them on cratered stone. Our sole light was from two torches carried by Ryne and Jiro respectively, whilst our range was enhanced by the green-eyed glow-effect of my «Searching» Skill.

"Thank God he's shut up." Arashi whispered.

But not quietly enough. I launched into the next verse:

In restless dreams I walked alone

Narrow streets of cobblestone

'Neath a halo of a streetlamp

I turned my collar to the cold and damp

When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

That split the night

And touched the sound of silence.

"Does he always jump into random singing?" Ryne asked of Asuka.

"Sometimes, though usually only when I'm around." She answered, with a large grin.

Arashi, meanwhile, had seized Kishi by the golden-coloured gorget of his «Cardiophylax» and was violently shaking him!

"If you sing one more syllable I'll throttle you!"

"You're already… throttling me…!" Kishi gasped.

"Excuse me, Ryne." Asuka said.

In seconds, she had stood up on her tiptoes to grab Arashi by the ear. With a single sharp tug she pulled him away from Kishi, who fell to the floor in a heap.

"Can we behave, please? You two are acting like children."

"But he started it!" Arashi maintained.

Whilst proving her point, I wanted to say, but wisely I kept my mouth shut.

Of course, as this was going on we were all oblivious to the sounds of battle going on around us. As usual, Shiro was the responsible adult. Whilst we bickered in the background Shiro, together with his friend Jiro, had engaged one of the many shambling skeletons and flailing corpses. One of the larger corpses raked its decaying claws down the bull-embossed face of Shiro's shield, but he held firm and lashed out with «Rage Spike». In this case it wasn't used for damage; «Rage Spike» was low-damage with a high recovery speed. Jiro, of course, was used to working with Shiro. The second he saw his friend begin his recovery period Jiro weaved into the fray and activated «Stealth Position». This particular Skill belonged to the «Weak Point Sensing» Skill and increased personal attack and movement speed whilst sharply lowering the accumulation of aggro. Once this was accomplished he launched the two-strike «Twin Thrust» Sword Skill. The shambling corpse was hardier than the skeleton - who dispersed into polygonal oblivion - though its HP was irrelevant. The secondary effect of «Twin Thrust» Paralysed the target and thus the poor corpse was shambling around in a very different manner than before.

And Shiro was free to move.

"Good move, Jiro!" He congratulated.

With their quarry thus immobilized Shiro launched the three-hit «Sharp Nail» Sword Skill. The first slash was from bottom-right to top-left, the second was a horizontal stroke from left to right, with the third and final being a quick slash from top-right to bottom-left along a diagonal trajectory.

Their victory was signified by the shambling corpse bursting into polygons like the skeleton had before it.

"Hey, guys! We're ready-"

The words died on Shiro's lips. You see, when he turned around he saw a rather peculiar scene: Kishi and Arashi were standing with their heads bowed in what he could only describe as fear as Asuka wagged a finger at them in a manner very similar to a draconian school teacher who was disciplining unruly children.

"You know when I agreed to join this group at your suggestion?" Shiro asked of his friend.

"Yeah?"

"I think I may have had a screw loose."

Our journey soon resumed and you'll be thankful to know that there was no more singing from me or physical abuse from Arashi. In fact, we never opened our mouths once. Even when Asuka, Ryne, Shiro and Jiro conversed about the dungeon and its possible origins, Arashi and I kept our mouths firmly closed. My head would have been downcast to boot had my «Searching» Skill not been needed.

"I'd say this place was built by the Dwarves." Jiro opined.

"Aren't they usually little bearded people in games like these?" Asuka asked.

"Usually." Ryne agreed. "And greedy to boot. I really like them."

"No surprises there." Shiro agreed.

"Hey, can you blame a girl for knowing what she likes?"

Why Jiro suddenly looked like he wanted to be about 4ft (ca. 122 cm) tall with a large scraggly beard was open to interpretation. I knew my interpretation was that he had taken a real shine to Ryne, and I couldn't exactly blame the guy. She was absolutely stunning and, looks aside, was cheerful and fun-loving. Not to mention smart. That aside, her current load-out of equipment left very little to the imagination. You see, her gear was called «Felines Hiss» and was probably the most risqué piece of equipment I had ever seen, even when it possessed some of the best bonuses I had seen at this point in the game. Ryne, as I had already made quite clear, had a body any model would be proud of. And her current gear emphasized all of her natural curves by being very skin-tight. In fact, it was so revealing that unless she was alone with us like she was now, Ryne refused point-blank to wear it at all. Suffice to say she had been the subject of some male ogling and said ogling only stopped when Arashi's cursor changed from green to orange, and we had to help him resolve a «Karma Recovery» quest because he kind of lost his temper a little and attacked two players.

"I see heartbreak in his future." Arashi whispered to me.

"You think?"

"Yup. Jiro's not good with women."

"You could help him?" I asked. "You know, like you do with me. I don't call you my Wingman for nothing, you know."

He smiled at that.

"Yeah, true. But you've got natural charisma. Jiro hasn't."

CLICK. CLICK.

We stopped moving at the same time and shared a concerned look. There was nothing in front of us save our companions and there was nothing behind us save darkness. The ground beneath our feet was stone, albeit cracked and broken, so that left only one place.

I cast my green-hued eyes to the ceiling.

"Get ready to Howl." I suggested.

He nodded once before...

"RAAAAAGGH!"

Shiro turned, completely shocked, but quickly saw why Arashi had done what he did, and thus his complaint went unvoiced. Usually roaring like that in a dungeon when you weren't in battle would draw a pile of dungeon mobs towards you, but at the moment instead of everyone being attacked only Arashi and I were attacked - and me by courtesy of the fact I was standing directly next to Arashi, who as you already knew was our Tank.

What was attacking us?

Dirt-covered skeletons.

Only in an RPG would a statement like that make any kind of sense. But given that this was a VRMMO the reality was quite striking, to say the least. Imagine a thin dirty skeleton armed with a sword and shield, or in a rare case a spear, running at you. Yeah, not exactly a normal scenario, is it? We weren't surprised though. Seven skeletons fell on Arashi and me from the ceiling above but not one of them managed to actually put a dent in our HP bars. I leapt up a little and struck out with the area-of-effect «Fell Crescent» Sword Skill, which momentarily surprised our quarry, who no doubt had been expecting to take us by surprise. I landed lightly and ducked just as my «Post Motion» seized me. Arashi, meanwhile, fired off «Cyclone»! His spinning attack passed just over my ducked head and bisected all seven skeletons, each in turn bursting into polygons.

As soon as we had both recovered we bumped fists.

"Good to see you guys aren't sulking too much." Asuka jibed. "Thanks for watching our backs."

"You are very welcome!" Arashi bit back, all smugness. "What, no kiss on the cheek this time?"

We all had a good laugh - even Arashi - when she kissed me on the cheek and stuck her tongue out at Arashi.

Before we get back to dungeon delving I suppose I should tell you where we are and why the place is filled with the walking dead? Like so many locations on Aincrad's 5th Floor, this dungeon was a crumbling ruin known in-game as the «Dead Woods Mausoleum»; essentially a tomb, with lots and lots of creepy crawlies whom Asuka did not like one bit, who had been loud about said discomfort. Like its name suggested it was sequestered away within the «Dead Woods», which was a region on the 5th Floor consisting of blackened dead trees that sat roughly between the town of «Mananarena» and the labyrinth tower. Unlike so many areas of the game, however, this dungeon had not been in the beta. It was unlocked through a four-leg quest series involving the investigation of suspect antiques coming onto the Mananarena markets and had come very much as a surprise when we discovered its existence.

"I wonder why they added this place?" Ryne said aloud.

"Probably as a grinding spot." Jiro provided. "The place is instanced."

"And what does that mean exactly?" Asuka asked.

"It means that there will likely be nice loot." Shiro added, smiling. "Given your inclination towards treasure, Asuka, you should be more happy."

"Oh, haha."

Like Arashi and I, Ryne had been a beta tester. Though this wasn't a known fact outside our group, with perhaps the sole exceptions being Argo - because she seemed to know everything - and that young white-haired kid who was Sheila and Elise's friend. Her knowing smile showed she agreed with Shiro's views on the matter. And truth be told our experiences thus far had proven this to be true. You see, we were currently on the third floor of this particular dungeon. Floor number one had been a fairly straightforward hallway with various adjoining rooms filled to bursting with corpses and skeletons; like those we had already dispatched, they had posed very little challenge or threat, as our levels were quite high and the quality of our gear was well above the norm for this particular Floor. Floor number two and three however proved to be quite labyrinthine in nature; in fact, I was fairly sure there was actually a degree of hallway shifting going on around here.

Not that I could prove that, mind you.

The chests we looted along the way amounted to large quantities of ore from two chests on the first floor, one from the second, and one from the third. Saying as how I was currently looking to replace my «Scimitar» +8, which currently rested in Sheila's inventory for that exact reason, that ore was a blessing. In addition, we had snagged 30,000 cor from a hidden chest on the first floor that went straight into our guild coffers, a «Worn Sword» and «Threadbare Cloth» from the second floor, and a vial of unknown content from the third. We'd need Elise's «Appraisal» Skill to identify what they were under the grime and dirt of years of neglect, but I had a feeling they'd be good items.

Call me an optimist!

Thankfully, our journey through this particular dungeon looked to be coming to a close, because the fourth floor was an expansive circular room with only a single sarcophagus that sat on a raised stone dais that looked to be crumbling, though it was in better condition than the rest of the tomb. Like so many we had seen on our journey here the sarcophagus was open. Considering they had lined the very walls and ceiling of every floor preceding this one, having one seemingly set in reverence down here sent a not so pleasant chill up my spine.

"Arashi, this is the Boss room." I noted.

"Aye, it practically screams 'dungeon bottom'. How's your weapon holding up?"

"Not good, to be honest. But we've got more important things to worry about right now. Firstly, where's the Boss?"

Heh, I just had to open my big mouth.

"... Arashi…!"

"... Yeah, I know…!"

I couldn't describe it as anything other than an odd sensation that made goosebumps rise on my arms. I wasn't very familiar with killing intent in the real world but Sword Art Online interpreted this almost as an aura, and as a player killer in my beta days I was familiar enough with killing intent in the virtual world to know when I was feeling it. It wasn't usually identifiable but players could learn to identify this "aura", which could only be easily described as an «Outside System Skill».

I looked towards Shiro and felt my blood run cold.

"MOVE!"

My shout had the desired effect: Shiro pivoted on the balls of his feet and with remarkable reflexes I was fairly sure would be impossible in the real world, he managed to pull Jiro clear of a massive blade that passed mere millimetres from his skull! Instead of leaving things at that however Shiro launched the Sword Skill «Shield Bash». A sickening echo, indicative of clashing Sword Skills, filled the circular room! But the Boss was neither stunned nor slowed; if anything, it moved with greater Agility, as if it were riding the momentum caused by Shiro's attack in order to propel its bony legs forward. Despite wielding a large two-handed sword in only one-hand our foe moved behind Asuka and Ryne almost instantly and prepared a Sword Skill unknown to me.

"Oh no, you don't!" My voice sounded fierce even to my own ears.

The act of protecting the girls with «Shunt» snapped the blade of my «Pale Edge» +4 cleanly in two as the Boss's massive sword collided with my own curved sword. Ah, crap! I knew I should have invested some points into Durability! Too late now though. The force sent me trailing backwards with a glowing red damage effect standing out across my armoured pectorals but instead of being immediately attacked by the second strike of its Sword Skill, however, the attack was cancelled out by the parrying strike of Arashi!

"Kishi, we've got a Revenant!" He bellowed. "On your feet! It won't hit you again so don't worry about healing!"

My head snapped up, eyes wide. There was no sign of my usual playfulness or jovial attitude in my green eyes: all that was reflected there was seriousness and resolve.

The Boss sported 3 HP bars, red armour that glistened beneath decades of dust, and a cursor so dark red it may as well have been black. It was identified in-game as an «Armoured Revenant». Usually this would be a cause for concern. As I had said numerous times before though Arashi and I were beta testers. We knew how to fight this thing.

Arashi fell into his role of Raid Leader without missing a beat.

"Shiro, he'll constantly summon fodder!" Arashi said loudly enough to be heard. "Skeletons and corpses. You and Jiro are to keep them off us. Asuka, focus on normal attacks against everything; only attack the Boss when your DoT is ticking on everything else. Ryne, you're to focus on the Boss. The only other weapon Kishi has is his shitty «Bronze Sabre» so he'll be doing crap damage outside «Martial Arts»."

"Let's give it hell!" I added, with a wild grin.

"Just try to keep up, Kenji!" Arashi quipped.

"Your on, Kusaka!"

We hadn't even realized we called each other by our real names.

It became less about fighting a Boss monster and more about besting one's rival. You see, Arashi had been completely spot on. My «Bronze Sabre» +1 (1S) wasn't the only weapon available to me: I had my «Martial Arts» which, of course, were boosted by my «Martial Arts Leg Guards». Midway through the battle Ryne and Asuka stopped fighting to watch; Arashi and I, working in perfect synergy, parried every blow and countered every time! When Arashi landed a blow that knocked off a considerable portion of its HP I attacked from the back with a swift stream of standard attacks before settling on the DoT providing «Leaver» Sword Skill. Every attack that followed used either my hands or my feet. I wasn't even close to Arashi in damage totals, but I was doing enough damage to keep me just below him on the aggro table.

Ryne looked slightly miffed at that, but I was a Strength-focused build whilst she was an Agility build, so this shouldn't really come as a surprise.

"You never cease to amaze." Arashi admitted.

"What can I say? You bring out the best in me!" I answered.

And damn it was this right!

It was like watching Naruto Uzamaki and Sasuke Uchiha get serious and kick Momoshiki's ass up and down the pavement! My opinion might be biased somewhat, I admit, but our teamwork was flawless. Arashi covered my back and I struck out immediately; in the one time when Arashi mistimed his parry and was about to receive a crippling attack, I aimed my «Water Moon» at our opponents massive sword, which successfully served as a parry. I was sent skidding backwards of course, and suffered damage as well for my trouble, but the reprieve allowed Arashi to launch a monstrous counter!

So much for it not touching me again though.

"Cheers!" I heard him shout.

"So much for not healing." I jibed. "That said, I think it's time to end this. You ready?"

"Always!"

I didn't have the DPS at present to knock the remainder of its HP down in one blow. But Arashi did. So for once I led the line and lot him take up the rear. «Reaver» propelled me forward like a bullet from a gun and the moment my attack connected, I shouted the words "SWITCH!", and Arashi never missed a beat. «Bloody Reave» was one of the more destructive early two-handed sword acquisitions and involved four individual attacks; the first was an overhead, the second followed an upward slash along the firsts' trajectory, and the third involved a backwards step followed by a forward stab right into the gut. The final was a vicious horizontal stroke that literally dragged the blade through the opponent's guts!

Yet the Boss stubbornly refused to die and began winding up another Sword Skill.

"AND IT'S MINE!"

This was, of course, an attempt at the «Last Attack» bonus, my «Post Motion» having resolved itself towards the end of Arashi's Sword Skill. Arashi's strike had dropped the «Armoured Revenant» to the last sliver of its sole remaining HP bar and I took the opportunity to launch my last Sword Skill. «Neck Ripper» was exactly what it said - a single blow aimed at the neck. What set it apart from other Sword Skills was a percentage chance to do substantially more damage than was normal, which translated to a critical attack that was twice as effective as a normal critical hit. Thankfully this trait kicked in and the Boss dispersed into polygons, despite my «Bronze Sabre» being anything but powerful.

That said, I took a quick moment to silently thank my former partner. I had to admit to some attachment; the blade had been my sole weapon when this death game began, you see, and here it was saving me again. This wasn't the first time it had carried me to victory. Though the MVP here was Arashi and his «Xiphias» sword. The thing was so overpowered for this point in the game that even monsters with cursors leaning towards the darker shade of the colour spectrum were trivialized when faced with its sheer capacity to inflict damage.

"Why am I not surprised?" Arashi quipped, somewhat annoyed. "I even did almost all the work."

"I only got it because of the opening you made, buddy."

This seemingly placated him, thankfully.

"We aren't done though." Arashi noted. "Ready to mop up the rubbish?"

"Always."

The rubbish, in this case, was the endless supply of fodder summoned by the boss. They weren't designed to be threatening on their own but in Sword Art Online, where panic could quickly become a deciding factor in even the simplest of engagements, an endless stream of summoned skeletons could spell the end for an average party. Hell, it could even spell the end of a veteran raid party if they were caught unawares. Thankfully, Shiro and Jiro had justified Arashi's trust in them. Combined with Asuka's DoT's whatever skeletons they fought died quickly. Arashi and I barely had to lift a sword when it came to mopping up.

"What did you get anyway?" Asuka asked me.

I'd almost forgotten!

"Let's see… just what I needed!"

The LA Bonus provided a pair of gloves called «Gloves of the Deviant» which was one of the equipment slots I had hoped to upgrade in the coming future. Whilst their protective bonuses where low they offered a bonus of +5 to Agility and a Vitality bonus of +2. Altogether, very nice. Visually they appeared to be made from darkened rawhide without fingers.

"Okay, I think I've had enough of tombs." Shiro exclaimed. "Can we please head back? This is one quest chain I'll be happy to see the back of."

"Agreed," Jiro added. "Though we'll need to warn Argo about this place so it'll get into her New Year strategy guide. The traps scattered throughout this place could kill the unwary."

"I'll do that!" Asuka volunteered. "I noted down the types of traps as I found them."

Ah, her notebook. Somehow I'd forgotten about that too.

Zeroing in on what Asuka said though, the traps in this place had been a surprise. Not in that they were present in the game; let's face it, we're stuck in an RPG. Traps are a staple of the genre. I just wasn't expecting them this early into the game. Even on the 9th Floor I hadn't seen much in the way of traps at all, though I had to admit that most of my time was spent killing players here on the 5th Floor back during the beta. Most of the player population wouldn't even be in a position to notice traps of the quality we had seen in this dungeon. It was only thanks to Asuka, whose Skills provided a potent «Composite» effect she affectionately called her «Thieves Tools», that we were aware of the traps at all. My «Searching» Skill had failed to detect them and considering that it was sitting at a Proficiency level just under 200 meant these traps were very well hidden.

Most of the player population had slotted combat skills. In fact, the only player who hadn't that I was aware of was that little white-haired kid who had taken a shine to Sheila. What the hell was his name again? You'd think I'd know: the twins talked about him often enough.

I pushed it from my mind, and we completed the return trip to the surface much quicker than the descent had been courtesy of a secret path back to the first floor. We couldn't describe what it felt like to back outside again after having spent almost all day journeying to the light of two torches.

"Are we heading straight back to collect the twins?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, I'm curious how they got on with their relic hunt." I answered. "Though after that I think I'm going to call it a night. That dungeon run was stressful."

Before immediately hitting my bed on our return to Mananarena though I hung around to see what our loot turned out to be. The «Worn Sword» was revealed as an orange-hued one-handed sword called the «Beast Slayer» whose stats without enhancement surpassed those of an «Anneal Blade» enhanced to its maximum, with the added bonus of inflicting critical damage against «Beasts». Thusly this went to Shiro. The «Threadbare Cloth» turned out to be another «Vendor's Carpet» and this one went to Ryne. All things considered I was actually shocked she didn't have one already. The third and final item of note was that vial. Elise revealed this to be a «Poison Vial» - an item whose effect was applied to a weapon for a set duration in order to enhance said weapon with a poisonous DoT.

"Okay, thanks all. But I'm going to sleep."

And that's exactly what I did...


	10. New Year Resolutions

After our exertions clearing out the «Dead Woods Mausoleum» you'd have thought it a good idea for us to stay in our beds for a while and recuperate, though you know us well enough by now to know that just isn't how we roll. Resting was the farthest thing from our minds. It was late morning, just past 10:00 o'clock, of the 31st - New Year's Eve, but celebration or yearly reflection was right up there with relaxation on our priority list. You see, it was finally time for me to see my weapon slot upgraded. Following yesterday's dungeon run I was in dire need of an upgrade; my «Pale Edge» had been shattered like a piece of glass, and given how my «Scimitar» was statistically similar to it at their respective stages of enhancement, it may not have fared much better at all had it been in my possession at the time.

No, it was time for me to lay down the «Scimitar», faithful servant it had been. My trusty «Bronze Sabre» too. The strength of my «Scimitar» and the soul of my «Bronze Sabre» would continue in a new blade. You can call me corny or sentimental: I don't care. What I was, however, was scared. Perhaps Sheila sensed my apprehension? Her little hand found mine and the smile she gave me was encouraging.

"Are you sure?" She asked me. "We could find you another weapon. You've had this since before-"

I stopped her with a gentle nod. Since before I met her, though that wasn't what she was about to say. I had wielded this particular «Scimitar» the day I fought Loki and welcomed Sheila and her sister into my company. And now I couldn't imagine this game without them. They had more than repaid whatever debt they thought they owed me and here she was about to help me yet again.

"... Okay, here goes."

Creating weapons in Sword Art Online fell under the umbrella of the «Blacksmith» Skill, which of course Sheila possessed. I hit the CREATE WEAPON option, followed by ONE-HANDED WEAPON and ONE-HANDED CURVED SWORD, before finally settling on SELECT MATERIAL. She had already broken my «Scimitar», «Pale Edge» and «Bronze Sabre» down into their constituent parts; the «Scimitar» yielding to me a «Razor Ingot» whilst the ingot from my «Pale Edge» and «Bronze Sabre» was further broken down into usable ores. These would be combined with the various ores and material gathered over the last few days using the «Razor Ingot» as the core.

In essence, this meant my new sword would be built from the materials of my primary and secondary swords thus far, plus the weapon that had carried me through my first hectic battles. I choose the necessary materials, having already made up my mind about this, and selected the core last. With a satisfying swoosh two sacks of assorted materials and a metallic, almost blood-red ingot materialized on Sheila's workbench. Sheila took these materials with almost exaggerated care and placed them in the fires of her small portable forge. I watched the ingot heat, eventually glowing red, until Sheila removed it with a gloved hand and transferred the heated ingot to her small anvil. There was a Dark Elf on the 3rd Floor who could do this as well, of course, but Sheila was every bit as skilled as he was, if not more so. Besides, I trusted her.

Still, it looked rather strange. Sheila was a kid - only 12 years old! Yet here she was heating metal in a forge. It looked rather comical. She was the exact opposite of what you'd expect a blacksmith to be.

"Good luck!" I heard Elise chirp.

She'd been so quiet I almost forgot she had been there.

"Thanks,"

It was impossible to fail at weapon creation. There was no outcome where you wouldn't end up with a new weapon. So at least from that viewpoint I was guaranteed at least something for my time and effort, not to mention the effort being put forth by Sheila. The chance, however, was the quality of the created weapon. Basically, if Sheila didn't smack that ingot about twenty times, then the weapon I'd end up with would be inferior to the one I started with. So you can imagine my apprehension. You could even say my fear. You lived and died by the quality of your equipment; the fact I had managed so long with my «Scimitar» had a lot to do with the fact I hadn't been doing much questing solo, coupled with my beta knowledge.

Thankfully, this fear was quickly eclipsed; she was still hitting that ingot after thirty swings!

"Pinch me, please." I exclaimed, but not really being serious. "Ouch!"

"Sorry,"

Elise was trying to look innocent but was failing miserably. I'd have to have a gentle word with Ryne; she had really been a bad influence on young Elise.

"Little devil," I said.

"Heh,"

There was a new tension however. You see, Sheila was still hammering away! The apprehension I had felt earlier was quickly replaced with excitement. How many strikes? The higher the better, after all. Her final blow came on the stroke of forty-five and was followed by a brilliant white flash! The ingot morphed, revealing my new sword. Sheila took the weapon in her hands like one might a newborn and carefully handed it over to me and I immediately drew it from its sheath. The first thing I noticed was the weight; it was easily twice the weight of my old «Scimitar», with a long thick blade with a noticeably weighted tip. I could tell even after only a few practice swings that this thing could easily cut through plate-mail - the weighted portion of the tip lent weight to the swing, and judging by the width it certainly wouldn't possess the durability issues of my old sword. There was also the minor fact that the handle felt like it was made to fit my hand.

"Razer," Sheila said. "That's what its name was."

Its name was the last thing I was interested in. You see, a weapons quality was directly proportional to the number of swings required to make it, as I had already said. The fact it had taken forty-five swings to make «Razer» meant that it was roughly three times as powerful as my old weapon had been, and I hadn't even upgraded it yet! Excitement gave way to awe. You see, what I didn't know is that there had only been one weapon created in all of Aincrad at this particular point in time that had been forged for a player that was superior to my «Razer», and that was the «Chivalric Rapier» currently wielded by Asuna the Fencer of the front-line group. As far as I was concerned, however, this was the current mack-daddy of weapons. It would even give Arashi's «Xiphias» stout competition!

"Sheila, this is awesome. Thank you!"

"Heh, you're welcome!"

With my weapon created whatever plans we had for the day other than enjoying the eventual festivities concluded. That said, other than Sheila, Elise and myself the inn in Karluin that served as our current base was decidedly empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Ryne rounded everyone but Asuka up for boat escort." Elise answered.

"Is money all that girl thinks about?" I shook my head. "I'm going to find Asuka. You two coming along or…?"

Sheila practically jumped to her feet.

"We've got plans with Raixas!"

They bolted out the door before I could even raise a complaint. I was left standing in the inn room with my left eyebrow raised in a manner near-identical to Dwayne Johnson back when he was still on WWE.

"Who the hell is Raixas!?"

Raixas, as you know, was the young white-haired teenager who had been partying up with the twins when Kishi and company were otherwise engaged, and of course Kishi knew this too. The boy in question was standing outside the inn, his back leaning against the wall nearest the inns front door and what appeared to be a juice box held towards his lips, when the twins suddenly exited.

"Ah, there you are!" I greeted, the juice box quickly being hid. Image and all that. "I take it things went well with the sword?"

"Really well!" Sheila answered. "Sorry for making you wait!"

"Can we go now!?" Elise exclaimed. "I really want to see everyone planning the party!"

Was it strange that I had got quite used to being swept up in their inexhaustible energy? I didn't even attempt to argue and simply ran off after them. The plan of the front-line group was to hold Aincrad's very first New Year's party at nine o'clock. Apparently, there was going to be fireworks. When we made it to the scene of the proposed party there were members of both the DKB and ALS running from here to there on any number of errands. One of them, whom I thought was a member of the DKB, stopped and asked Elise if she didn't mind helping prepare more food. There was more interest than they accounted for, she said, and of course Elise was only too happy to help.

"And there she goes!" I said. "Now what? It was Elise's idea to come here."

"Yeah," Sheila answered. "Hey, we should go. Before someone recruits us for something."

I could scarcely contain my joy! As I had already said, I was content being swept up in their pace. I would never outright tell them I hated doing some things they liked - like running through market-places filled with actual people, for example - but I had to admit being delighted that Sheila had suggested that we head somewhere else.

"I'm so happy you said that!"

She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me back in the direction of the inn! I could barely explain how that made me feel. Such friendliness had escaped me in the real world though this came with its own set of challenges that I wasn't wholly prepared to deal with just yet. Once again I was the socially awkward and bumbling Fujimaru; the confidence of Raixas had vanished like a snow cone in Phoenix.

If they had known I had seen them disappear around the edge of a crumbling wall, hand in hand to boot, they would have been very embarrassed. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't be mean." Asuka warned. "They're only kids."

"Sorry, it's just that that kid has got it into his head that I'm their older brother." I answered, my smile showing well how hilarious I thought that was. "According to Shiro, he thinks I'm going to bite his head off or kick him up the arse. Or maybe both. I'll be shocked if there isn't a puddle at his feet when they finally introduce him to me."

"... You're evil, you know that?"

"This coming from the painter?"

I was, of course, referring to the incident which saw good old Arashi splattered in pink-coloured paint.

"Point taken." She conceded.

"What was his name again?"

"The kid? Raixas, I think."

Sheila and Elise hadn't told me a great deal concerning their new friend. They had spoken about him a little, sure, and when they did speak about him in my hearing, what they said about the white-haired kid was high praise indeed. It was only a matter of time before they introduced him to me properly. Unbeknown to me this would be tonight: Shiro and Sheila had already extended an invitation to him to join us for our New Year's celebration.

But I had a few more new faces to meet before then. It turns out Asuka hadn't been taking it easy this morning as I initially thought. She had actually been helping another guild clear out the «Dead Woods Mausoleum».

The guild in question was called «Last Remnant» - no doubt named for the role-playing game of the same name developed by Square Enix back in 2008 - and consisted of five members. Going by what Asuka had already told me they had carved out a niche for themselves by writing up detailed dungeon guides and selling them to the player's trying to catch up to the front runners. You see, if a dungeon had little to do with the final labyrinth or the clearing of a Floor, then the front runners tended to leave them alone, and «Last Remnant» had apparently noticed this trend too. I was also aware of an arrangement between the DKB and ALS that they would avoid the «Elf War» campaign quest in the interest of avoiding dangerous competition. There had already been one incident that had almost come to player on player violence. That, at the very least, had to be avoided. That did, however, mean that dungeons belonging to the campaign quest had barely been touched upon by Argo's guides.

I had to admit to being impressed.

Our meeting place was a small restaurant closer to the outskirts of Karluin, to avoid the crowd of party planners milling about the teleport plaza.

When we stepped inside my eyes nearly popped out of my skull!

"Meian Tadaoki, you old bugger!"

"Kenji Hiroshi! This is a turn up for the books!"

Asuka didn't know where to look! I was suddenly shaking hands with a grey-haired male just slightly shorter than myself with a wiry frame. He was dressed in a western-style suit complete with dress trousers and a top hat. To be honest he looked rather out of place. We were in Karluin after all; the place was a crumbling, dusty old ruin, yet the man I identified as Meian looked like a stereotypical gentleman. The fact he wore a red overcoat and a rapier at his waist gave him an appearance not unlike the British redcoats during the American Revolution.

"This is awesome!" I said.

"So, it's awesome that I'm stuck in a death game, is it? Careful, Kenji, old boy. I might take offence."

"Umm, Sasakibe, you know each other?" Asuka asked.

"Oh, my apologies, dear girl!" Maybe now would be a good time to explain that Meian - or rather «Sasakibe», which was his in-game name - was fascinated by British culture. Even out-dated British culture. "Old Kenji here is just a turn up for the books, is all. We go way back, he and I."

"We used to work together." I revealed. "But we're being really rude right now, Meian. Who are your friends?"

He introduced me to four individuals in turn. The first was Rika Hirata whose in-game name was «Alisaie». She was a woman whose height and weight was slightly shorter and lighter than Ryne. Her weapon of choice, a mace, coupled with her lightweight studded leather jacket, skirt and leggings, identified her as a damage-dealer. The mace appeared to be a unique design; probably a monster drop, but I had to admit to being overall unfamiliar with the category, so I couldn't even make an educated guess as to its quality or attributes. Her armour was unremarkable but consistent with the Floor. She waved at me cheerily whilst her other hand fiddled with her black-rimmed glasses.

"It's nice to meet you!" I greeted.

"Likewise, though I must admit to being surprised. Meian described you - and I quote - as a 'decidedly cheeky fellow'."

"He'd know, the old fool."

The second person whom Sasakibe introduced was also female. Unlike Alisaie, however, this woman was taller than I was! In fact, she wasn't much below Shiro. Senka Hase was her name though in-game she was known as «Risa». She went very opposite to my expectations because she was decked out in «Medium Metal Armour» - the «Tortoise Shell» upper-body set if I was not mistaken - and had a sword sheathed at her waist and a shield strapped to her back. The sword was an «Elven Stout Sword» though the shield was unremarkable. She shook my hand firmly and nodded at me in greeting.

I'd soon learn that she was an intense woman of few words.

The final two were male.

The first of the two men was an absolute giant! His height was matched only by his circumference; he stood at 6-foot 10-inches, which is just over 2 meters, and weighed approximately 150 kg. He neither shook my hand or inclined his head, but rather wrapped me up in his big arms and hugged me tightly! I was somewhat shocked when the system didn't interpret this as a violation of the anti-criminal code, so there I was getting squeezed to death by a giant of a man who smelled vaguely of maple syrup. Shinrei Musashibō was his real name though in-game he was known as «Benkei». He was the first person, player or NPC, whom I had seen wield a «Flail» alongside a shield. Like spears, they had greater reach than traditional weapons, but suffered from the same potential weaknesses. Still, they were a niche weapon category, and considering he was obviously a Tank, I found the combination intriguing.

His silence was soon revealed to me.

"Please don't take his silence the wrong way." Alisaie said. "He's a very sensitive man, and hasn't said a word since the announcement on the 1st Floor."

Rather than speak to me the big man shot me off an instant message:

«Nice to meet you.»

I replied with «You too» in the same manner.

The second of the two men was of considerably more standard stature, albeit lined with hard muscle. Sasakibe said that he was a bodybuilder and looking at him I could believe it! He had arms as thick as my thighs. Fujimoto Fujiwara was his name though his in-game name actually made me burst out laughing! «Johnny Bravo». For the unenlightened this was the name of an American cartoon character with a yellow-coloured pompadour-hairstyle who was a complete - and wholly unsuccessful - womanizer. Johnny was exactly the same way; he had spent his time flirting with Asuka, Alisaie and Risa, and had just recieved a sharp elbow to the ribs, courtesy of Asuka. Go on, Asuka! That's my girl! He had even seemingly modelled his appearance on the character he named himself after too. He sported a black-coloured pompadour and a crescent-shaped scar - probably a tattoo like Arashi had - around the outside of his right-eye.

Johnny showed me little interest, claiming that I wasn't a woman, and went right back to talking to the girls.

"And you had the brass to call me a cheeky fellow." I said to Sasakibe.

"Don't judge the bunch by one bad apple." He quipped.

We caught up over food and drink and I finally learned why Asuka had been asked to tag along with them earlier. You see, the «Dead Woods Mausoleum» had been the first dungeon-style location to feature traps that could be fatal to a player. It was quite possible that Asuka was one of a rare group of players who could identify and disable these traps without incident or harm to her group.

We eventually said goodbye to Sasakibe and crew but not before Asuka and I had every single one of them registered in our respective friends list. By the time we left it was already dark out, so we headed back to the inn where we planned to have our own subdued New Year's celebration away from the hustle and bustle that was Karluin's teleport plaza.

Waiting for me was another introduction.

"It's very nice to meet you properly. I'm Raixas."

"Kishi," and I took his hand and shook it firmly.

Asuka looked proud, especially since I managed not to embarrass either Raixas or Sheila. And oh how I wanted to; I swear I did. But in the end I didn't and instead we filed neatly into the dining room of our current inn in Karluin and waited patiently on whatever big surprise Ryne and Elise had cooked up between them for us.

"My money's on an idea to make more money." Shiro said.

"... She's went bankrupt." Arashi added.

"Somehow I doubt that." Jiro answered crisply.

"Want to bet?"

"I'll take a slice of that action." I provided.

Before long we had a prize pot of 10,000 cor. Arashi, Shiro, Jiro, myself and young Raixas. He wasn't the age to gamble - technically he wasn't the age to be playing Sword Art Online either - so we said nothing on the matter when he politely asked if he could participate.

"So, Raixas." I said. "You haven't told us what you're actually betting on yet."

He looked towards the floor, obviously unsure, but when he did eventually look up at me there was a glimmer of mischief there. Heh, maybe I was going to like this little guy after all?

"Could I write it down?" He asked. "I don't want to spoil the surprise."

"... Sure."

And he handed me a folded piece of handwritten parchment.

With some fanfare Ryne revealed the big surprise: alcohol! This, of course, didn't go down as well as you would have thought. That was because one could not become drunk in Aincrad no matter how much of the stuff you drank. Down keg after keg, pint after pint, bottle after bottle. You could drink yourself to the point of ridiculousness and not get so much as a slight buzz. We knew very well; Shiro, in particular, was very annoyed about this. So you can imagine Shiro, Arashi and me retreating to our seats with very sour expressions, feeling more than a little cheated by our Treasurer. Young Raixas, however, tapped me on the shoulder.

"Can I collect my winnings now?"

"You little-"

I unfolded his parchment. He was spot on!

"Please forgive me for being forward, but you should take a second look. I'm underage, so I'll be over here."

Before he left however he stopped in front of Shiro and split the prize pot with him.

"You did say it'd be something to make money on. You weren't wrong."

Yeah, it was safe to say I liked the kid.

"... Come on, you two. Let's give this a try." I said.

By the time the clock struck midnight the only people in that room who weren't "drunk" were Asuka, the twins, young Raixas, and the assorted NPC's in the background. You couldn't really call it alcohol that Ryne and Elise had brewed up however. Poison was a more fitting description. In small quantities, say in a glass, it did next to nothing on its own. But it was cumulative! And amazingly it provided a series of negative status effects, amongst them a «Balance Down», «Dizziness», and «Nausea» effect that grew the more you drank. Combined with what could only be attributed to a placebo effect and the people drinking it experienced most of what being drunk entailed.

Ryne had named the stuff «Pigeon Ruby». When the bottle was manifested from the inventory it was contained in a bottle reminiscent of a whiskey bottle, had a distinct ruby colouring, and tasted vaguely of bourbon with a slight hint of apple. Quite sweet, but very nice, all being said.

It was quite brilliant.

"That's where I remember you from!" Shiro suddenly exclaimed. "The 1st Floor. You were in the bar!"

"... Correct!" Ryne answered. "It only took you over two weeks to realize."

Asuka, meanwhile, was speaking with Raixas.

"So, what do you think of our mad-house?"

He smiled.

"I think I've found my place."

"Don't you worry. I'll speak to Kishi. He's actually quite sweet once you get to know him a little."

"... Thanks."

"HEY!" Kishi roared. "We need music!"

Which, it seemed, was some kind of code for the twins to start belting out Disney songs, as Raixas soon discovered. As before, Let it Go and How Far I'll Go went through several renditions, though this time they added more: Colour of the Wind, The Circle of Life, and I'll Make a Man Out of You, to name a few.

Raixas was about to get up to dance, but I dropped into the seat to his immediate right and stopped him with a raised hand.

"Welcome to the guild." I said. "We'll sort your uniform tomorrow."

His eyes nearly popped from their sockets!

"And to commemorate the occasion, I want you to have this. Consider it a thank you for what you've done for the twins."

I materialized a thinly edged curved sword with a notched hilt, circular guard, and an oily sheen along its edge. This was «Shmargor's Crescent», which you'll remember as the sword I looted from the «Fallen Elf Commander» back on the 3rd Floor. Considering when it was available it had actually been superior to my «Scimitar» at the time, though I hadn't used it out of concern of returning to my player-killing beta routes. In addition to its paralysis effect it boosted Strength by +2 and Agility by +4. Sadly, it had languished in my inventory since then, but young Raixas had proved himself to be mature. Sheila and Elise attested to that.

Thus, could it finally be put to use.

"Careful, that things got Paralysis Level 2." I noted.

"... This'll let me protect them much easier." I heard him whisper. "Thank you, Kishi."

"You're welcome, kid."

It was our first recruit. As things turned out, it wouldn't be our last. Though a lot of heartache lay between now and then, though I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself again? 2023 lay before us along with many more Floors to clear.

There was just one rule - a New Year resolution, if you will - that I had to make young Raixas aware of:

"You are forbidden to die."


End file.
